Deputy CIO picked to lead Indiana Office of Technology

Dewand Neely has been promoted to chief information officer and director of the Indiana Office of Technology, the governor's office announced Friday.

Neely currently serves as deputy CIO, a position he has held since 2013. He will assume the new job Oct. 9.

Neely will succeed Paul Baltzell, who is stepping down after two years in the job to work at Carmel-based real estate company Mainstreet.

Joining Indiana government in 2003, Neely started as a contractor and then a full-time employee for the Family and Social Services Administration.  He was one of the initial employees to join the Indiana Office of Technology when it was created in 2005. He served several managerial roles before his current position.

Neely’s new responsibilities will include managing an annual operating budget of $27 million and overseeing a staff of 90 employees responsible for providing IT support for all state agencies.  

“Neely was one of the initial employees for the Indiana Office of Technology and his extensive experience with the agency will prove critical as we continue to work toward innovation and efficiency within state government," Gov. Mike Pence said in a written statement.

Neely received his undergraduate degree from Purdue University’s School of Technology and his MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Pence said Baltzell was instrumental in the implementation of the administration's data-driven decision-making initiative and in using technology to take on the state’s infant-mortality problem. He also helped initiate the Indy Civic Hack Series, including the first multi-state hackathon competition, won by Indiana.

Baltzell is featured in this week's IBJ Interview Issue.

He said Friday that the new job is "a relatively out-of-the-blue opportunity" and he wasn't aware of it when he spoke to IBJ for the Interview Issue on Aug. 21.

"We've been able to do a lot great things in IT here … ," Baltzell said of his role with the state. But he said the Mainstreet offer "was an interesting new challenge that I thought was an exciting new area to take on."

Mainstreet develops health care facilities. Baltzell will be vice president of information technology solutions, the company's first.