This groundbreaking BEYA winner will step down in January 2025
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on January 2, 2025
According to a press release from Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb, Tracy Barnes will step down as the Chief Information Officer and the Director of the Indiana Office of Technology on January 10, 2025.
Holcomb appointed Barnes to this position in March 2020.
As the Chief Information Officer, Barnes served on the Governor’s Cabinet, overseeing the Indiana Office of Technology.
He provided strategic guidance on the state’s technology portfolio and leadership regarding technology and cybersecurity policies.
“Tracy has elevated our state’s technology infrastructure and addressed growing cybersecurity challenges at all levels of government,” said Governor Holcomb. “Within weeks of assuming this role, he and his team implemented immediate measures to ensure Indiana’s operations continued smoothly during the pandemic and developed long-term policies essential for the operational security of state government.”
Barnes was honored with the David L. Steward Legacy Award during the 2024 BEYA STEM Conference.
This award, named after David L. Steward, the founding chairman of World Wide Technology, recognizes successful innovators and collaborative leaders in the tech sector and has been awarded since 2015.
Under Barnes’ leadership, the Indiana Office of Technology implemented cybersecurity protections for state employees and agencies, collaborated with local governments to provide cybersecurity training and preparedness, established the first agency earn-and-learn program to reskill Hoosiers for technology careers, and developed a multi-cloud strategy to diversify cloud consumption and oversight capabilities.
Additionally, the office earned national recognition for data governance and transparency efforts, became a leader in digital government efficiency and innovation (notably by launching the first full-site generative artificial intelligence chatbot to provide information available on the state’s website), increased the number of services accessible to Hoosiers through Access Indiana (the state’s single sign-on) from 150 to simplify citizen engagement, and led the creation of a centralized public records access portal for state agencies.
Barnes has been recognized by StateScoop magazine as a GoldenGov State Executive of the Year, was named one of Indiana’s 250 most influential business leaders by the Indianapolis Business Journal, and received accolades from the TechPoint Mira Awards and the IBE Governor’s Award for Achievement in Technology.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Butler University and a Master of Science in Cybersecurity Law from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. He also holds a certificate from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
