Gov. Bob McDonnell named Del. Sam Nixon (R-Chesterfield) to be the Commonwealth’s new Chief Information Officer, leading the Virginia Information Technology Agency (VITA), effective April 5.

In making the appointment, McDonnell said, “Sam and I served together for twelve years in the House of Delegates. During that time I came to greatly admire and respect Sam’s intellect, character and understanding of the important issues facing the Commonwealth. Sam is a thought leader on information technology issues, both as a legislator and as a Senior Consultant at Richmond–based IT consulting firm CapTech Ventures. Sam’s experience in this fast–changing industry will be of tremendous benefit at VITA. I know he will do a great job for the citizens of Virginia.” (see Governor’s full press release)

Speaker Howell shared the Governor’s enthusiasm. “Sam Nixon is the ideal public servant – a recognized and respected leader with vision and integrity, a consensus builder with an uncanny ability to bring people together and harness their many talents, and a problem solver who’s proven time and again that he can fashion practical solutions that deliver real results on technology issues, business concerns and so many other pressing issues that people really care about,” said Speaker Howell. “These attributes make his selection as the Commonwealth’s next Chief Information Officer at the Virginia Information Technology Agency such wonderful and welcome news for all Virginians.” (see Speaker’s full press release)

Nixon takes over VITA as implementation of important reform legislation that passed during the 2010 Session of the General Assembly takes effect. Del. Kathy Byron (R-Campbell) carried House Bill 1034, which enhanced accountability by making the CIO accountable to the Governor, through the Secretary of Technology, and making other important improvements in the Commonwealth’s IT Governance. Byron chairs the Science and Technology Committee.