PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE TRENDS

MODERATOR Ellen Perlman Staff Writer/Tech Talk Columnist Governing Magazine

John C. Carrow Chief Information Officer Vice President Information Technology Unisys		Charles Gerhards Founder and President Gerhards Consulting Group, LLC
Thomas Jarrett Secretary and Chief Information Officer Department of Technology and Information State of Delaware	John Kost Managing Vice President Gartner Research	Dianah Neff Chief Information Officer City of Philadelphia
Arthur C. Stephens  Deputy Secretary Information Technology Commonwealth of Pennsylvania		Aldona Valicenti VP, Business Development and Strategy State and Local Government Oracle Corporation

MODERATOR:

Ellen Perlman
Staff Writer/Tech Talk Columnist
Governing Magazine

PANEL SPEAKERS:

John C. Carrow
Chief Information Officer
Vice President, Information Technology
Unisys

John Carrow joined Unisys as chief information officer and vice president, Worldwide Information Technology, in December 1996.
 
As CIO, John has worldwide responsibility for Unisys information technology and telecommunications across all Unisys employees operating in more than 119 countries worldwide. In this capacity he directs the approximate 1000-person IT organization and manages the Unisys IT budget.
 
John is responsible for setting the strategic direction for information technology and providing automated capabilities in support of the Unisys global business operations and its customers.
 
Before joining Unisys, John served, from 1993, as the first chief information officer in the history of Philadelphia. As CIO of Philadelphia, John was responsible for establishing the strategic direction for the use of information technology across the diverse enterprise of 45 departments and 25,000 employees. John led the reengineering of the City of Philadelphia's IT operations based upon a strategic IT plan which is moving Philadelphia into and beyond the year 2000. His work was covered extensively in the October 1996 issue of CIO magazine and in the December 1996 issue of Governing magazine, in which he was named Public Official of the Year for 1996.
 
Prior to serving as CIO for the City of Philadelphia, John had a successful sixteen year career with General Electric. During his tenure with GE, he rose from the position of system engineer on large-scale information systems to general management positions in both line operations and business development for the GE Aerospace group in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
 
A native of Crystal City, Missouri, John is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He served 11 years as a U.S. Army officer rising to the rank of Major. He is a decorated Vietnam combat veteran. John received a master's in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Illinois.

Charles Gerhards
Founder and President
Gerhards Consulting Group, LLC

Charles Gerhards is the founder and president of Gerhards Consulting Group, LLC. Launched in 2003, the company works with premier technology businesses across the United States, helping them achieve higher levels of performance and market dominance. Gerhards Consulting Group offers services including strategic consulting, thought leadership, identification of client opportunities, and project management. More information is available on the company’s website at www.gerhardsconsulting.com.

Before starting Gerhards Consulting Group, Mr. Gerhards served as the Governor’s Deputy Secretary for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was responsible for the establishment of statewide policies, standards, and guidelines governing the planning, management, acquisition, security, and use of information technology assets in all Commonwealth agencies under the Governor's jurisdiction, impacting 85,000 state employees. Mr. Gerhards was appointed to this post by Governor Tom Ridge in January 1999 and served under both governors Ridge and Schweiker. He retired from the Commonwealth in January 2003 after 33 years of public service.

As the state’s CIO, Mr. Gerhards oversaw the development and implementation of some of the most pioneering government technology projects in the nation. Included among those initiatives was the Data PowerHouse, the first successful state government data center consolidation and outsourcing project in the nation; the PA PowerPort, state government’s award-winning Internet portal and related e-government applications; Imagine PA, the most extensive public sector enterprise resource planning (ERP) project in the U.S.; JNET, Pennsylvania’s nationally recognized integrated justice network; PA Open for Business, a website offering vital state services online to businesses 24 hours-a-day; Commonwealth Connect, which provides 65,000 state employees with a shared email network and standard desktop software for creating and sharing office files; the Keystone Communications Project, representing the largest transition to competitive telecommunication services in the nation; and the construction and deployment of the most advanced, voice-and-data, public safety radio network in North America.

Based on these accomplishments, the Commonwealth won many prestigious awards and captured the attention of the national media. Additionally, in 2002, Mr. Gerhards was recognized with the “Public Official of the Year” award, which is presented annually by Governing magazine. He was one of eleven public officials so honored. In March 2003, Mr. Gerhards was named by Government Technology magazine as one of the “Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers” in public service. The publication explained that this honor was reserved for leaders who managed “innovations (that) have helped advance the art of applying technology to government service, changing the landscape of public-sector IT.”

Mr. Gerhards received his Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Pennsylvania State University in 1970 and currently serves as an Advisory Board member for Penn State’s acclaimed College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST). He has been a featured speaker at numerous national conferences, has testified before Congress on various technology issues and is frequently quoted in national mainstream and technical publications.

Thomas Jarrett
Secretary and Chief Information Officer
Department of Technology and Information
State of Delaware

Governor Ruth Ann Minner nominated Thomas Jarrett as Chief Information Officer/Cabinet Secretary of the Delaware Department of Technology and Information (DTI) on 3 September 2001 and he was sworn in on 8 February 2002.

As the Chief Information Officer/Secretary of DTI, Secretary Jarrett is responsible for all of the state's information technology needs. His first charge as Secretary was managing the transition of the agency from the Office of Information Services to the new Department of Technology and Information. The Department of Technology and Information now more closely resembles a private sector IT organization than a typical state agency. Under Jarrett's direction, DTI has its own compensation and performance packages and utilizes business case methodology for review and approval of all state government IT projects.

Secretary Jarrett has been an active member of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) since September 2001. He serves as chair of the Strategic IT Business and Services Committee. He held the position of Vice President for NASCIO from April 2003 to September 2004 and he currently serves as NASCIO’s President. In addition to being the Governor's chief advisor on technology matters, he serves Delaware as the Chairman of Delaware's Technology Investment Council and is a member of the E911 Advisory Board.

Secretary Jarrett was formerly with Verizon Delaware and spent most of his career focused on new technology deployment. His final six years involved a significant career change when he became Director of Government Affairs. He retired with 30 years of service.

John Kost
Managing Vice President
Gartner Research

John Kost is a managing vice president in Gartner Research, where he leads the Public Sector worldwide. He writes and coordinates Gartner research for topics particularly unique to government. Mr. Kost is nationally renowned for his work in information technology management and procurement reform.

Mr. Kost has an extensive background related to government, including starting the state and local sales organization at Siebel Systems, serving as vice president for worldwide business development in TRW's Public Sector systems integration business, and starting a state and local business while serving as senior vice president at Federal Sources. Prior to his private sector career, Mr. Kost spent 20 years in government in Michigan, which culminated in his becoming state chief information officer (1992-1996). During his tenure as CIO, he was responsible for the state's procurement process. He also previously served as chief deputy state welfare director and director of policy for the Michigan Senate. He began his state government career in 1976 as a welfare caseworker.

Mr. Kost received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan in 1978 and a master’s degree in public administration from Michigan State University in 1981. He also attended the State & Local Executive Program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1993.

Dianah Neff
Chief Information Officer
City of Philadelphia