Warner taps Va. technology chief
- By Dibya Sarkar
- Jan 03, 2001
Virginia Office of the Secretary of Technology
A top EDS executive has been tapped by governor-elect Mark Warner to become
Virginia's next technology secretary.
George Newstrom, senior vice president at EDS, reportedly will assume
the state technology post March 1 upon his retirement from the company.
He will replace current Secretary of Technology Donald Upson, who has agreed
to stay until then on an interim basis. Warner, who will be sworn in next
week, made the nomination Jan. 3. "George Newstrom was one of the early
leaders of northern Virginia's technology community," Warner, a Democrat,
said in a prepared statement. "I want Virginia to be known as the state
that gets the Information Age right, and George is already one of the people
who's making that happen."
At EDS, Newstrom has served in a variety of government and health-sector
roles since joining the company in 1974. He also heads the Asia-Pacific
operations for EDS Information Solutions.
Newstrom is on the board of directors of the Information Technology
Association of America, a trade association representing IT interests, and
serves as chairman of the board of the World Information Technology and
Services Alliance, an international consortium of IT trade associations.
Virginia was the first state to create a cabinet-level technology position.
Gov. Jim Gilmore appointed Upson to the post in 1998.