July 23, 2021 (St. Paul, MN) - The State of Minnesota’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the Commissioner of Minnesota IT Services (MNIT), Tarek Tomes, was named a finalist for the 2021 National Nonprofit/Public Sector CIO of the Year® ORBIE® Award.

Commissioner Tomes received the 2020 Twin Cities Nonprofit/Public Sector CIO of the Year® ORBIE® Award in September 2020, after which he was nominated for the National CIO of the Year® ORBIE® Award alongside ORBIE winners from the InspireCIO Leadership Network chapters across the U.S.

The CIO of the Year® ORBIE® Awards recognize technology executives for outstanding leadership and the business value created by technology innovation. Finalists and award winners were celebrated during a virtual award ceremony on Thursday, July 22, 2021.

“Technology played a central role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Commissioner Tomes and his team at MNIT worked tirelessly to meet the needs of Minnesotans, and we are proud that they are being recognized for their service to the state.”

Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota

Tomes was appointed in April 2019 by Governor Tim Walz to his role at the State of Minnesota. He brings over 25 years of experience in managing technology innovation across diverse industries, both in national, international, and public and private sector operations. Throughout his career, he has facilitated data-driven decision making, implemented many critical enterprise projects, and improved workforce diversity and inclusion.

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About Minnesota IT Services

Minnesota IT Services, led by the state’s Chief Information Officer, is the Information Technology agency for Minnesota’s executive branch, providing enterprise and local IT services to over 70 agencies, boards and commissions. MNIT employs more than 2,000 people across 90 physical locations. Together, we build, maintain, and secure the State’s IT infrastructure, applications, projects and services. MNIT sets IT strategy, direction, policies and standards for enterprise IT leadership and planning. We also serve Minnesotans by connecting all 87 counties, 300 cities, and 200 public higher education campuses across the state on the MNET network. Through public-private partnerships, our team proactively protects the state’s information systems and the private data of 5.7 million Minnesotans.