5 Facts About Nelson Moe, Virginia’s New CIO

Virginia recently named Nelson Moe to be the state’s new chief information officer, replacing Sam Nixon, who resigned earlier this year to take a position as chief administrative officer of the State Corporation Commission.

Here are five facts about the man who is taking on one of the country’s most complicated state information technology jobs:

1. Moe served as the CIO for the U.S. House of Representatives from 2012 to April 2015, leading a staff of nearly 300 full-time employees while managing an $89 million budget. More importantly, he had to provide IT services to 435 congress members, most of whom had strong personalities and were not used to taking no for an answer.

2. He began his career with the House of Representatives in 2001, first working as a network branch manager. He also served as the director of networking and unified communications and the assistant CIO of operations before taking on the role of CIO.

3. Moe served as an officer in the U.S. Navy and was assigned to a nuclear submarine.

4. He will be in a key position to determine Virginia’s IT future. The state outsources all of its IT to Northrop Grumman as part of a multibillion dollar deal that is set to expire in 2019. Moe, along with Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and state Secretary of Technology Karen Jackson, must prepare the state for its future by either renewing a contract that has seen trouble in the past or charting a new course.

5. Moe is not likely to be around when the contract ultimately expires, nor will Jackson or McAuliffe. Virginia limits governors to a single consecutive term, so with McAuliffe leaving office in 2018, and his administration leaving with him, the decisions made now will greatly affect a new wave of state technology leaders.