In an important new development, the administration of Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has not only appointed a permanent replacement to State CIO Peter Quinn, but also dedicated the press release announcing that appointment to reconfirming its steadfast commitment to the implementation of the OASIS OpenDocument Format.
In an important new development, the administration of Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has not only appointed a permanent replacement to State CIO Peter Quinn, but also dedicated the press release announcing that appointment to reconfirming its steadfast commitment to the implementation of the OASIS OpenDocument Format.
The announcement that Louis Gutierrez would replace Quinn was made today by State Secretary of Administration and Finance Thomas Trimarco, the immediate supervisor of the State CIO. The appointment of Gutierrez will be effective on February 6, 2006.
The Romney adminstration is clearly using this appointment to signal that it’s support for ODF implementation is unwavering. Significantly, the second sentence of the press release states:
Gutierrez will be responsible for overseeing the final stages of implementation of the state’s new Open Document format proposal, to go into effect in January 2007.
The press release goes on to highlight the fact that earlier in his career, Gutierrez was chief information officer for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (HHS), the largest state secretariat with 23,000 staff and more than $12 billion in annual spending. In that capacity, Gutierrez:
[L]ed the development and implementation of the state’s Virtual Gateway, an online portal that integrated the web presence of 16 agencies into a user-friendly format that improved service delivery and reduced costs. “The Virtual Gateway is an example of how state government computing can be transformed through the application of open standards that interoperate with many kinds of technology and vendors,” said Gutierrez. “s technology continues to evolve there remain substantial opportunities to transform services and a need to plan for the long-term future of technology-infused operations.”
Clearly, this press release is being used to express the determination of the Romney administration to push through its implementation of ODF. This is doubly significant in a political sense, given that Romney has made no effort to deny that he has forgone running for reelection in favor of nurturing his chances to make a run for the United States presidency.
By underlining his commitment to ODF, Romney may be using the ODF issue to draw a line in the sand, thereby demonstrating that he will neither kowtow to special interests (in this case, Microsoft), nor will he “flip flop” on a policy, once he has committed to it.
This strong support for ODF is doubly significant, given contentions as recently as today by Microsoft National Technology Officer Stuart McKee that acting Massachusetts CIO Bethann Pepoli was drafting “additional policy” on ODF, suggesting a weakening of resolve (Pepoli promptly denied McKee’s assertion).
With the announcement of Gutiererrez, and the unambiguous manner in which it addresses Romney’s commitment to unimpeded implementation of ODF, there can be no doubt that this presidential hopeful is placing a major political investment in ensuring that the OASIS OpenDocument Format will prevail in Massachusetts, all efforts by Microsoft and local politicos to the contrary.
Following is the full text of the press release.
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ROMNEY ADMINISTRATION APPOINTS CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER (1-30-06)
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Executive Department
CONTACT: Julie Teer
Felix Browne
(617) 725-4025
January 30, 2006
ROMNEY ADMINISTRATION APPOINTS CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
Administration and Finance Secretary Thomas Trimarco today named Louis Gutierrez as chief information officer of the Information Technology Division (ITD), the department that oversees information technology operations and planning for executive branch agencies. The appointment is effective on February 6, 2006.
Gutierrez will be responsible for overseeing the final stages of implementation of the state’s new Open Document format proposal, to go into effect in January 2007.
“Information technology is an important tool that helps to deliver a wide range of government services both quickly and cost effectively,” said Trimarco. “Louis Gutierrez has a distinguished record in both the private and public sectors and brings a keen understanding of information technology’s mission and its potential.”
Bethann Pepoli, who has served as the department�s acting chief information officer, will become deputy chief information officer. Gutierrez will leave his current position as chief technology strategist at the Commonwealth Medicine Division of UMass Medical School in order to accept the appointment. While at UMass Medical, Gutierrez directed a team that provided technology support during Operation Helping Hand, the state assistance effort for Hurricane Katrina evacuees who came to Massachusetts.
Prior to working at UMass Medical Gutierrez was chief information officer for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (HHS), the largest state secretariat with 23,000 staff and more than $12 billion in annual spending. While at HHS Gutierrez led the development and implementation of the state’s Virtual Gateway, an online portal that integrated the web presence of 16 agencies into a user-friendly format that improved service delivery and reduced costs.
“The Virtual Gateway is an example of how state government computing can be transformed through the application of open standards that interoperate with many kinds of technology and vendors,” said Gutierrez. “As technology continues to evolve there remain substantial opportunities to transform services and a need to plan for the long-term future of technology-infused operations.”
A former principal at the Exeter Group, an IT strategy and integration services firm, Gutierrez has held a number of top IT positions, including chief information officer at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and deputy director for technology planning and standards for the Federal Reserve system. He is a former Commonwealth of Massachusetts chief information officer.
A graduate of Harvard College and MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Gutierrez lives in Arlington with his wife and their two daughters.
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