Tarek Tomes, the Minnesota governor’s tech chief, will move on

After nearly seven years as Minnesota’s chief information officer, Tarek Tomes is moving on to a CIO role with the University of Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz announced Friday.

Tomes, whose official final day is March 15, became the state’s top technology official in 2019, some six months before news of a novel coronavirus spreading through Europe would begin disrupting daily life. Like many CIOs at the time, his days became a scramble to connect thousands of newly remote workers to cloud software and aid their transitions to a more Zoom-centric work culture.

He launched chatbots, to support the state’s public-health and unemployment services, and seemed to relish the opportunity to demonstrate technology’s value: “There’s never been a greater spotlight on technologists’ need to deliver,” he told this publication in 2020.

But even beyond navigating a global health crisis, Tomes’ time in state government was unusually newsworthy — even if only peripherally — first finding himself as a report to a vice presidential nominee, and, more recently, serving a state that’s somehow landed at the center of a national feud over immigration and the proper limits of executive power. (Walz, for his part, has been unyielding, scoffing last month at an offer from Attorney General Pam Bondi to exchange his state’s voter rolls and safety-net benefits data for the removal of federal immigration agents.)

And Walz, who last month pulled his reelection campaign and has pledged never again to run for any public office, in a press release thanked Tomes for his service, noting his work on cybersecurity and modernizing systems like the one behind the governor’s cherished Paid Family and Medical Leave program. He praised Tomes’ “people-first approach” and “clear vision for how technology can make a government work better. Minnesota is stronger because of his service, and I am deeply grateful for his contributions.”

In the same press release, Tomes called his tenure “an incredible honor,” and thanked Walz and Peggy Flanagan, the lieutenant governor, “for their leadership and their steadfast commitment to investing in, leveraging, and relying on technology innovation to transform government.” (Tomes was not immediately available to be interviewed for this article.)

When Walz began during his second term to make support for children and families a larger priority, Tomes was there to support the project, building the infrastructure and services that would make Minnesota, according to the governor, “the best state in the nation to raise a family.” Last year, Tomes described that work as “approaching technology through the lens of empathy,” never losing from view the reality that the people consuming the state’s services have “a lot of things going on in their lives.”

The CIO’s consideration of the people he served echoed throughout his tenure — in 2024, he emphasized “respecting people’s time,” designing services in ways convenient for the public, not for the state: “Really at the core of that is providing digital services that are available 24 hours a day.”

When Kamala Harris selected Walz as her running mate for the 2024 election, Tomes continued supporting the governor, publicizing his work on the state’s Free School Meals for Kids program, and attesting to Walz’ image as an unusually down-to-earth politician: “He walks his dog in the morning, spends a considerable amount of time with his daughter and his son. What people see is really authentically the governor.”

A post on LinkedIn announcing Tomes’ move Friday quickly accumulated hundreds of reactions, including one from Doug Robinson, the executive director of the National Association of State CIOs — “Thank you for your public sector leadership … I hope you still have my socks!” — possibly a reference to limited-edition NASCIO socks, emblazoned with Robinson’s face, that officials have been seen wearing on stage at the association’s twice-a-year conference.

Before joining Minnesota’s state government, Tomes spent five years with the capital city, serving first as St. Paul’s CIO and later as its chief innovation officer. The first half of his career was in private industry, where he spent 18 years with British Telecom. And before tech, he once mentioned, he played basketball professionally in Europe, a pursuit he’s continued from the sidelines of East Ridge High School, where he’s known as “coach.”

Maybe reinforced by his time serving under a governor known for his authenticity, Tomes gave hints of his own character, several years ago, when asked to dispense a piece of fashion advice to first-time NASCIO attendees. He didn’t mention socks, but provided a more universal piece of guidance: “Be yourself,” he said. “Don’t try to be anyone else.”