Suma Nallapati, named chief technology officer for Colorado in February, was appointed the state’s CIO and secretary of technology on Wednesday. Nallapati replaces state CIO Kristin Russell, who resigned in April to take a job with Deloitte Consulting.
“Suma is exactly the kind of person the state needs,” said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, in a prepared statement announcing Nallapati’s appointment. “She is passionate about the potential of technology to transform everything a state does for its residents, and she recognizes that cost matters. We are grateful she has chosen public service.”
Before joining Colorado state government, Nallapati worked at Catholic Health Initiatives, one of the nation’s largest health-care networks, where she led teams responsible for data centers, network operations, service desk and end-user computing.
Photo: Colorado CTO Suma Nallapati was appointed as the state's CIO and Secretary of Technology on May 28.
As state CIO, Nallapati will oversee the operation and delivery of information technology services and innovation for Colorado executive branch agencies. She also will lead tech-related economic development efforts and work with the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade to promote Colorado as a location for IT companies and technology-based workers. Nallapati starts the new position June 1.
“Technology is rapidly changing, and there are growing ways to make delivery of information faster, more customer-friendly and more secure,” Nallapati said in a statement. “At the same time, Colorado is poised to become an even greater hub of technology innovation as companies continue to tap the state’s talented workforce.”
In an earlier interview with Government Technology, she pointed to social media, mobile computing, data analytics and cloud computing as the technologies that interest her most. “You have to take the best of everything,” she said, “and create a value stream for your customers.”
Nallapati -- who has degrees in electronics and nuclear physics -- added that she’s passionate about collaboration.
“Leadership should be about empowering your employees to give their best,” she said. “I believe in empowering your teams to do their best; you’ll get leaders from every corner, and you’ll be surprised.”