State

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy hires state’s first chief innovation officer

Beth Noveck, a professor at New York University, previously served as the White House's deputy chief technology officer.

By Benjamin Freed

August 13, 2018

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday that Beth Noveck, a professor at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, will serve as the state’s first-ever chief innovation officer. In a press release, Murphy’s office said Noveck will be tasked with modernizing government services and crafting policies that make the state more attractive to the technology industry.

“To reclaim our innovation economy, we must have fresh, cutting-edge ideas that will not only bring New Jersey into the 21st century but also improve the lives of our nine million residents,” Murphy said in the release. “I am pleased to have Beth Noveck join our team as New Jersey’s first Chief Innovation Officer. Beth is an experienced, high-caliber professional who will make New Jersey a leader in government effectiveness.”

In her current posting at NYU, Noveck focuses on technology, culture and society. She also runs the Tandon School’s Governance Lab, which researches technology-driven solutions for government.

Previously, she served as a deputy chief technology officer for the federal government during the Obama administration, and has also served as a senior adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron for open-government programs.

According to Murphy’s office, Noveck’s responsibilities in Trenton will include designing more efficient government services; collaborating with other governments, the private sector, and academia to develop ways to use technology to solve public problems; use data to make state policy decisions; and stimulate entrepreneurship.

Noveck’s appointment is the latest piece of Murphy’s reorganization of New Jersey’s information technology leadership. In June, Murphy, a Democrat who took office in January, named Christopher Rein, a longtime cybersecurity official, as the state’s new CTO . Rein inherited an information technology modernization effort begun under his predecessor, Dave Weinstein, who stepped down with former Gov. Chris Christie.

Murphy’s office did not say where on the statewide organizational chart Noveck’s new role will sit, though the role does not require approval from the state Senate. According to the Associated Press, Noveck’s $140,938 salary will be paid out of a $500,000 grant to Rutgers University, the state’s flagship public university.