County loses its IT chief
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- January
- 25
Norman Jacknis, the information technology guru credited with leading Westchester County government into the age of the Internet, will leave on Feb. 14 to join networking giant Cisco Systems.
Jacknis, 61, has broadly influenced the electronic operation of county government in the 10 years that he has served as chief information officer. Among his first tasks in 1998 was a directive from County Executive Andrew Spano to convert the government offices from paper to electronic communications by year’s end.
Since then, he has been credited with developing a high-speed Internet network with both business and education applications, automating the county’s emergency services center, and overhauling the county Web site.
Among other things, the site now reports the results of a bimonthly county survey of gas prices.
He was named one of the “Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers� by Government Technology magazine.
Jacknis said he was gratified when Westchester recently was selected as one of the Top 7 Intelligent Communities of the Year by the Intelligent Community Forum, an international research group.
“Every single department has been touched by his creativity and intervention,� Spano said in a statement. “We’ve gone from the Dark Ages to the 22nd century as far as I’m concerned . I certainly understand why his skills are in demand.�
Jacknis, a Cortlandt resident, was out of the office yesterday and couldn’t be reached for comment.
At Cisco, he will work as a technology adviser to government clients around the world, helping them pursue the same changes he led in Westchester.
“This is an opportunity to take what I’ve been dong in Westchester to a worldwide stage,� he said in a statement.
Jacknis led a department with a staff of 181 and a budget of $45.3 million. At a salary of $171,000, he earned more than Spano, who receives a salary of $160,000.
Deputy Chief Information Officer Marguerite Beirne will serve as acting CIO. There’s no timetable yet for finding Jacknis’ successor, county spokeswoman Lynne Bedell Smith said.
This entry was posted
on Friday, January 25th, 2008 at 5:29 pm by Jerry Gleeson.
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