N.C. IT czar 'CIO of the Year'

A body of work in the information technology field won N.C. Chief Information

Officer Rick Webb the "CIO of the Year" award from the Society for Information

Management.

Webb was recognized for spearheading the state's e-commerce initiative;

providing oversight for the implementation of the state's Year 2000 project;

initiating a statewide electronic mail system; and building partnerships

with state agencies, colleges and universities, public schools, local governments

and other organizations.

In his CIO position, Webb serves as Assistant Secretary of the N.C.

Department of Commerce, integrating information technology and economic

development. He also oversees the state's Office of Information Technology

Services.

Webb also serves as the chairman of the state's 911 Enhanced Wireless

Board. He is the southern regional director of the National Association

of State Information Resource Executives, and is the chair of its telecommunications

committee.

In other CIO news, Georgia CIO Mike Hale has resigned. Starting in June,

he will be the vice president and chief technology officer of Golf Augusta

Pro Shops Inc., where he will supervise its expansion into Internet sales

and e-commerce. Hale was appointed in June 1995, and served as the state's

first CIO.

Hale is one of several top state CIO's to leave their posts for the

private sector recently. Alaska's Mark Badger and Arizona's John Kelly resigned

in April. Badger is now with Cisco Systems Inc., and Kelly with Intel Corp.