Keith Werner was appointed as the new Vice President for Information Technology (VPIT) and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the UNC System Office in 2018, and joined NCSSM as Interim CIO in 2020. Keith oversees information technology policy and standards, information security, enterprise business systems, applications development, information technology infrastructure and operations, networking and communications, and software licensing. Keith also focuses on system-wide coordination and monitoring of constituent institution activities related to information technology. Prior to his position at the UNC System Office, Keith worked for Ernst & Young as its public sector leader for North Carolina and South Carolina. Keith also served as the State CIO and first Cabinet Secretary for the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (DIT), where he led all technology solutions for state agencies and citizens and directed organizational operations and change management to modernize how core business needs were supported. He has also held leadership roles as the Deputy State CIO and the CIO for the NC Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR).

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