HONOLULU – Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced Tuesday the appointment of Brian McKee as the City and County of Honolulu’s new Chief Information Officer (CIO) and director of the Department of Information Technology (DIT). McKee is an accomplished leader and innovative information technology professional with extensive experience in the governmental and utility sectors.
McKee’s hiring represents the culmination of a nearly year-long national search for an experienced and highly-qualified individual to lead the City’s Department of Information Technology into the future.
“Modernizing how our government works, and the way our residents request and receive City services, is one of the foundational priorities of our administration, and we are more than confident and excited in Brian’s ability to continue the incredible work our team at DIT has accomplished over the last four years,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “Brian is a strong and knowledgeable executive who brings an impressive depth and breadth of experience to this important role, and we could not be happier that he has agreed to join our immensely talented team here at the City.”
“I’m honored to accept this position within Mayor Blangiardi’s administration and will do my utmost to be worthy of the opportunity and challenge that the mayor has entrusted to me,” said McKee. “I have a track record of building strong teams, implementing industry best practices and leading transformative change, and I look forward to applying my skills to make Honolulu’s government more responsive, transparent and efficient.”
McKee will replace longtime CIO and DIT director Mark Wong, who — after 12 years leading the City’s information technology efforts — announced earlier this year that he planned to retire at the end of 2024. McKee’s official start date as CIO and DIT director will be January 2, 2025, but he will begin his tenure on an interim basis in the Office of the Managing Director on December 2, 2024, allowing him time to transition into the position with the outgoing director.
“Mark Wong is a unique and extraordinarily skilled executive who has dedicated the past 12 years of his life to the City and County of Honolulu as the leader of our Department of Information Technology, positively impacting the lives of countless residents in ways they may never know or fully understand,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “On behalf of a grateful public, I want to thank him for his many important contributions to our City, and wish him the best in his retirement.”
McKee has extensive experience leading governmental information technology agencies, having served for nearly seven years as the information technology manager for the City of Sacramento. He previously spent nearly eight years as the Chief Information Officer for the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, where he was responsible for the overall organizational strategic planning and implementation of information technology initiatives, and has experience working with utilities like Hawaiian Telcom and the San Diego Water and Wastewater Department.
McKee graduated from Coleman University in San Diego with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems.
—PAU—
