The Polis administration has announced that Alex Pettit is the state’s new chief technology officer.

Pettit, previously the chief information officer for Oregon, will guide the use of cloud services, blockchain and artificial intelligence, a press release stated.

“Alex will pursue our passionate purpose of Customer Delight while working to fulfill OIT’s mission of enhancing the lives of all Coloradans,” said Theresa Szczurek, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Information Technology.

Pettit graduated from the University of North Texas and received a Master of Business Administration in Management Information Systems degree from Loyola University Chicago. He has served as the chief information officer in Oklahoma, and was the chief technology officer for Denton, Texas, in addition to working in the private sector.

The Governor’s Office of Information Technology contains the state’s information security and broadband offices, and also manages the wireless communications system for first responders. The office’s 2020 goals include increasing the amount of virtual government services offered, boosting the state’s external security rating (which is on a scale similar to a credit rating), and better aligning procurement solicitations with outcomes.

Pettit’s predecessor, David McCurdy, left in fall 2019 after five years with the technology office.