State chief information officer retiring

State Chief Information Officer Doug Murdock retired from public service Friday, Gov. Josh Green announced.

Murdock served as CIO since January 2019. He previously worked as state comptroller and as the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s vice president for administrative and fiscal affairs.

“CIO Doug Murdock was responsible for leading Hawaii’s technology efforts through the very difficult pandemic years, while continuing to move the state forward with the modernization and consolidation of our IT infrastructure,” Green said in a news release. “We wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement.”

Government Technology magazine recently selected Murdock as one of its “Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers” for 2024. The national recognition honors IT leaders across the nation that are “working on the ground to usher government into the future,” according to the publication’s website.

“It has been an honor and a privilege serving the people of Hawaii and working with the extraordinary multi-award-winning team at (the Office of Enterprise Technology Services),” Murdock said in the release. “I want to thank everyone, both within government and in the private sector, who supported our efforts to modernize digital government in our state.”

The Green administration is currently conducting a search for a new CIO to oversee ETS. The role is a Cabinet-level position and requires Senate confirmation.

Tom Ku, who currently serves as the IT services operations officer at ETS, was named acting chief information officer in the interim. Ku previously worked as an assistant vice president for IT infrastructure networks at First Hawaiian Bank.