NASCIO Honors Mark Raymond of Connecticut for his Exceptional Service to the State and NASCIO

SAN DIEGO, CA., Wednesday, October 24 – The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) recognized Mark Raymond, past NASCIO president and chief information officer (CIO) for the state of Connecticut, with the association's Meritorious Service Award. Raymond was honored during a special ceremony Tuesday evening at the NASCIO Annual Conference in San Diego.

To spotlight outstanding service, NASCIO created the Meritorious Service Award, honoring leadership in state government and dedication to the advancement of NASCIO's mission. NASCIO's achievements have largely been the product of the enthusiasm, focus and service of its members; this commitment to excellence has served as a catalyst to redefine the role of technology at the federal, state and local levels.

"In the nomination for the award, Mark was described as a ‘special leader who understands how to move an organization forward’, and I couldn’t agree more,” stated Bo Reese, NASCIO president and chief information officer for the state of Oklahoma. “I’ve worked with Mark as a peer and as a leader on the NASCIO Executive Committee, and he has been a standout in terms of strategic thinking and moving both NASCIO and his state forward.”

Mark has led the state of Connecticut for the last seven years as an advocate for enterprise-wide thinking and approaches to IT investments and projects. He’s been instrumental in the formation of the Information Technology Capital Investment Program, which invests in and creates interoperable systems. He also led the development of the state’s first cybersecurity plan and has been a leader in cybersecurity planning and execution not only for the state, but also for NASCIO having chaired the Cybersecurity Committee for three years. Mark was also instrumental in building a partnership with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to utilize their data center facilities for Connecticut’s disaster recovery needs, the efforts of which were recognized by NASCIO with a 2016 State IT Recognition award.

“When our administration began eight years ago, we were handed an information technology infrastructure that was severely behind the curve and in dire need of critical updates, which is why we made modernization of our systems a key priority.  I couldn’t have selected someone better than Mark Raymond to head this task,” said Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy. “Over the last eight years, he has played an essential role in upgrading Connecticut’s information technology systems. Operating obsolete information technology systems creates inefficiencies that cost taxpayers money, result in delays and inefficiencies, and in some cases the inability to allow agencies to share information is downright dangerous. Overseeing such a critical upgrade is no easy task. I have the highest regard for Mark. His decades of experience in this field have proven himself worthy of the recognition he is receiving today. And we are so very grateful for everything that he has helped us accomplish.”

Currently serving as Past President, Raymond has been a member of NASCIO’s Executive Committee for four years, He was President in 2016-2017 and, prior to that, served in the role of Vice President and Secretary/Treasurer. In addition to the Cybersecurity Committee, Raymond has also chaired NASCIO’s Programs Committee, Audit Committee, Nominations Committee and Awards Committee, and has represented NASCIO with testimony on the federal level and as a speaker and panelist at regional and national conferences.