Gopal Khanna

Gopal Khanna was appointed Minnesota's first Chief information officer (CIO) by Governor Tim Pawlenty on August 15, 2005, and reappointed January 2, 2007. Announcing that Khanna would be leaving his post effective December 15, 2010, Governor Pawlenty said that Khanna "is a nationally recognized visionary with a tireless commitment and passion for good government. Gopal has led our efforts to manage information technology as an enterprise program and leveraged public-private partnerships to make government more efficient, effective, and citizen-centric".^[1] Prior to his departure, Khanna served as the Lead Co-Chair of the 19 member Minnesota Commission on Service Innovation (CSI), created through a bi-partisan legislation authored by State Senator (D) Terri Bonoff and State Representative (R) Keith Downey, with the charter to submit to the Minnesota legislature recommendations on "a strategic plan to reengineer the delivery of state and local government services, including the realignment of service delivery by region and proximity, the use of new technologies, shared facilities, centralized information technologies, and other means of improving efficiency.".^[2] Additionally, Khanna served as a member of Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy & Standards Committees’ Enrollment Workgroup, chaired by President Obama’s Chief Technology Officer at The White House, which was tasked to develop a set of standards to facilitate enrollment in federal and state health and human services programs.^[3]

Prior to assuming his position in the Governor's Cabinet, Khanna served in the administration of President George W. Bush from June 2002 through August 2005, where he held several senior policy positions including CIO and CFO of the Peace Corps^[4] and CFO of the EOP/Office of Administration.^[5]

Industry Leadership

As the President of the National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO), Khanna was an advocate for enhanced cyber security,^[6] as well as green IT initiatives.^[7]

Cyber-attacks are fast becoming the most serious threat our country faces. In light of this ominous direction, Gopal Khanna is deeply committed to bolstering Minnesota's and the nation’s capabilities to prevent a major cyber-attack. As he is strongly passionate about this topic, he is Co-Founder of the Cyber Security Summit 2012 and served as the chair of the Summit from 2011 to 2013, and is a member of the Advisory Board. For two days, public and private sector leaders meet to identify dangers and brainstorm innovative solutions at Cyber Security Summit in Minneapolis, MN. Khanna's vision for the Cyber Security Summit is to establish a multi-stakeholder consortium that brings together industry, government and academic interests in an effort to improve the state of cyber security on both a domestic and international level, noting that cyber security cannot be contained and outsourced to any one sector. Khanna also states that due to the vast scope of cyber threats, it requires active engagement of all stakeholders, including entities and organizations – large and small - across every industry .

Minnesota State CIO

Governor Tim Pawlenty appointed Gopal Khana as the first Chief Information Officer for the State of Minnesota in August 2005.^[8] In this role, Khanna developed technology innovations to streamline government and enhance collaboration among business and government entities.^[9] The move to move to an outsourced solution shortly before leaving office was questioned by Informationweek.^[10] Shortly after his appointment, Khanna was interviewed by Twin Cities Business Magazine and cited many problems he believed were facing Minnesota’s IT infrastructure, including “an aging state government workforce and younger tech-savvy who want faster services”. In order to combat these problems, Khanna instituted the following:

• The Minnesota Information and Telecommunications Technology Systems and Services Master Plan in 2007 which acted as a comprehensive plan for all of Minnesota’s information resources; the three pillars of which were consolidating and improving systems, improving efficiency and functionality of common activities, and increasing the security underlying the state’s electronic capabilities.^[11]
• The IT Funding Strategies for 21st Century report (2008) which sought “to inform policy makers of the need to create IT funding strategies that are needed urgently to facilitate and manage” Minnesota’s information priorities. It also advocated for “flexible and creative approaches to funding business and technological change” in order to “supplement traditional funding methods”.^[12]
• The Enterprise Security Strategic Plan (2009) outlined methods to control and protect Minnesota’s information assets, and a five year vision with 19 strategic objectives that were grouped into three categories: Improved situational awareness; proactive risk management; and robust crisis and security incident management.^[13]
• The Minnesota iGov report (2009) updated implementation and best practices outlined to meet the goals outlined in the Master Plan while taking into account the state’s fiscal challenges. It had 3 main tenets: citizens have expectations of data and services that are secure, accessible in real time, and locally available; information is one of the state’s most important assets; the act of consolidating IT systems is an opportunity to improve fundamental business operations.^[14]
• In September 2010, in an effort to deliver technology services as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible, the State of Minnesota’s Office of Enterprise Technology signed a groundbreaking enterprise-wide cloud-computing service agreement with Microsoft - being one of the first states to do so.^[15]
• Collaboration initiatives, like those outlined in StateTech Magazine in their Dec 09/Jan 10 issue, worked to “conquer storage woes with storage area networks rollouts, state of the art emergency operations centers, and arraignments conducted via video conferencing” and partner with neighbor states to reduce costs while tackling tough hurdles.^[16]

The Department of Revenue did not renew its contract for services from the Office of Enterprise Technology. Quality issues were acknowledged during a State House Legislative hearing.^[17] In September 2008 Khanna was elected by other state CIOs to be the President of the National Associoation of State CIOs.^[18][19]

U.S. Peace Corps

Served as Senior Foreign Service (SFS) level policy advisor to the Director of the Peace Corps on matters related to agency planning, congressional appropriations, budget strategizing, and directed all the information technology functions for the organization’s worldwide operations. As CIO, provided leadership and oversight for the agency’s worldwide IT operations and modernization of systems in support of agency’s mission. As CFO, led the implementation of a new, integrated, highly complex financial management system, with ORACLE at the backend, for the agency’s domestic offices and overseas operations in 72 countries, thereby providing a scalable platform to support the organization’s growth in the 21st century and fulfilling congressionally mandated financial reporting requirements, including submission to the United States Congress on November 15, 2004 the first set of audited financial statements in agency’s 43-year history. ( The Peace Corps Performance and Accountability Report)

Private Sector Career

International Technology Consultants, Inc.

From 1996 to 2002, Khanna was president and CEO of International Technology Consultants, Inc., a Minneapolis based IT and Management Consulting firm providing services to Fortune 1000 companies.

American Hardware Insurance Group

From 1990 to 1996, he was with the American Hardware Insurance Group, a Minneapolis-based property and casualty insurance group, where he held several positions including vice president of operations, vice president of systems, and vice president of information technology and administration.

National Council on Compensation Insurance

From 1981 to 1990, he was with the National Council on Compensation Insurance in Boca Raton, Florida, where he held several positions including director of operations and director of strategic planning. Prior to that, Khanna lived in New York where he held positions in marketing, sales management, merchandising, and corporate training and development with the MONY Financial Services Group.^[20]

Civic and community engagement

Khanna served former Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson from 1993-1994 as his appointee to the Minnesota Academic Excellence Foundation.

In 2007, Khanna travelled with Governor Tim Pawlenty as a member of a Minnesota Trade Delegation to India and visited sites in Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai opening trade opportunities between Minnesota and India.^[21]

Early years and Education

A citizen of the United States of America, Gopal Khanna was born and raised in India. He hails from a family whose patriarch Rai Saheb Ganesh Prashad settled in Kanpur, India after his retirement form service in the Indian Railways during the British Raj. Gopal Khanna received his early education in a boarding school at St. Francis College in Lucknow, India. Khanna was a member of school cricket, hockey, soccer, and debating teams. Gopal Khanna earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with concentration in Economics, Mathematics, and Political Science from Christ Church College, Kanpur, India. He then pursued his higher education at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Maine where he earned his MBA.^[22]

Awards and Recognition

• Gopal Khanna has been selected as a 2011 Premier 100 IT Leaders honoree by IDG's Computerworld. The Premier 100 spotlights leaders from both the technology and business sides of companies for their exceptional technology leadership, innovative ideas to business challenges and effectively managed IT strategies.^[23]

• In 2010, Khanna was named by Twin Cities Business Magazine as one of "200 Minnesotans You Should Know". The article sought to highlight "People who shape your world, whether you recognize it or not—people who come up in casual discussions, who frame points of view, whose very names form points of reference"^[24][25]

• InformationWeek named Khanna to their 2010 list of Global Top 50 CIOs^[26] InformationWeek "set out to identify top technology leaders at all levels of government who are embracing and responding to these new expectations"^[27]

• Khanna was a recipient of the 2009 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers award given by Government Technology Magazine for being a "new kind of public CIO -- one who adroitly blends public- and private-sector service, IT know-how and modern business management skills to create a more dynamic role within government."^[28][29]

• Recipient of Federal 100 Award for impact and innovation in a government agency in 2009.

Selected articles

• Cyberattacks: We are vulnerable by Gopal Khanna
• Gopal Khanna appointed White House CFO Rediff.com article
• Arab Spring revolutionaries need Gandhi by Gopal Khanna
• Restructuring the Operations of County Government: The Next, Practical Steps in Government REDESIGN by Gopal Khanna
• Mutually Assured Survival in Cyber Space by Gopal Khanna
• Mutually Assured Survival in Cyber Space, House Congressional Record, February, 2010 by Gopal Khanna (see page 33)
• Building Digital Roads & Bridges by Gopal Khanna
• Investing in the Invisible Infrastructure by Gopal Khanna
• Invest in Digital Infrastructure: NASCIO's President Makes a Strong Case Gopal Khanna mentioned by Dan Lohrman in his article on csoonline
• Saving State Dollars article by Patty Ostberg page 15

Talks and Interviews

• Wide Angle with Ashok Vyas, Guest Gopal Khanna
• Gopal Khanna and Cyndy Brucato in a KSTP interview on Cybersecurity
• Minnesota CIO Gopal Khanna Talks About Budget and Enterprise Solutions - Gopal Khanna, Minnesota CIO, interviewed by Government Technology
• State's First-Ever CIO Drives Technology — and Transformation - Gopal Khanna, Minnesota CIO, interviewed by StateTechMagazine
• Green IT: State CIOs Speak Out - Gopal Khanna, CIO, MN in a NASCIOmedia interview
• Gopal Khanna, Minnesota CIO, Interviewed by Nate Garvis in a Civic Summit interview
• How I Got Here: Gopal Khanna, CIO for the State of Minnesota
• NASCIO:Green IT
• How to survive the cyber ascent, TEDxUMN
• Cyber Universe, TEDxXLRI

References

External links

• Cyber Security Summit 2012 - Protect our Digital Future website
• State of Minnesota Launches Data Center Reduction from Minnesota Office of Enterprise Technology
• Stimulus Reporting: CIOs See Technology, Policy Challenges – VIDEO by Steve Towns
• National Cyber-Security Report Is a Call to Action by Matt Williams
• Gopal Khanna: NASCIO President Represents New Breed of Public CIO by Tod Newcombe
• 2009 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers
• Economic Stimulus Will Boost Technology and Role of State CIOs by Steve Towns
• The New Public Works...Investing in the Invisible Infrastructure
• TwinCities BUSINESS Magazine ‘Re-imagining e-Government’ by Dan Heilman
• Public CIO Magazine surveys State CIOs – August 2007
• Gopal Khanna on the cover of CIO magazine - SAJAforum.org - Aug. 25, 2007.
• STATETECH Magazine ‘State’s First Ever CIO Drives Technology and Transformation’ by Melissa Solomon
• National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO) ‘CIO Spotlight’
• Government Technology by Jim McKay
• DotGov Spotlight: Gopal Khanna
• Minnesota's Push for IT Standardization and Modernization by Steve Towns
• Gopal Khanna elected president of NASCIO - SAJAforum.org - Nov. 2008
• CIO's on the move by Mary K. Pratt
• Office Of Enterprise Technology Official Site
• American Hardware Insurance Group Official Site
• National Council on Compensation Insurance Official Site
• Mony Financial Services Group Website
• Informationweek: It's interesting that the CIO would guide a big outsourcing-like contract in Microsoft's direction as one of his last major decisions. website
• Deputy Commissioners testimony as to service and quality issues leading to contract cancellation website