Gopal Khanna
Gopal Khanna was sworn in as the 5th director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on May 9, 2017. He resigned on January 11, 2021. Previously, he was appointed Minnesota's first Chief Information Officer (CIO) by Governor Tim Pawlenty on August 15, 2005, and reappointed on January 2, 2007. Prior to his departure, Khanna served as the Lead Co-Chair of the 19 member Minnesota Commission on Service Innovation (CSI), created through a bi-partisan legislation authored by State Senator (D) Terri Bonoff and State Representative (R) Keith Downey, with the charter to submit to  the Minnesota legislature recommendations on ""a strategic plan to reengineer the delivery of state and local government services, including the realignment of service delivery by region and proximity, the use of new technologies, shared facilities, centralized information technologies, and other means of improving efficiency."". Additionally, Khanna served as a member of Health Information Technology Policy & Standards Committees' Enrollment Workgroup, chaired by President Obama's Chief Technology Officer at The White House, which was tasked to develop a set of standards to facilitate enrollment in federal and state health and human services programs. Prior to assuming his position in the Governor 's Cabinet, Khanna served in the administration of President George W. Bush from June 2002 through August 2005, where he held several senior policy positions including CIO and CFO of the Peace Corps and CFO of the EOP/Office of Administration. Industry Leadership. As the President of the National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO), Khanna was an advocate for enhanced cyber security, as well as green IT initiatives. Minnesota State CIO. Governor Tim Pawlenty appointed Gopal Khana as the first Chief Information Officer for the State of Minnesota in August 2005. In this role, Khanna developed technology innovations to streamline  government and enhance collaboration among business and government entities. The move to an outsourced solution shortly before leaving office was questioned by Informationweek.Shortly after his appointment, Khanna was interviewed by "Twin Cities Business Magazine" and cited many problems he believed were facing Minnesota's IT infrastructure, including ""an aging state government workforce and younger tech-savvy who want faster services"". In order to combat these problems, Khanna instituted the following: The Department of Revenue did not renew its contract for services from the Office of Enterprise Technology. Quality issues were acknowledged during a State House Legislative hearing. In September  2008 Khanna was elected by other state CIOs to be the President of the National Association of State CIOs. U.S. Peace Corps. Served as Senior Foreign Service (SFS) level policy advisor to the Director of the Peace Corps on matters related to agency planning, congressional appropriations, budget strategizing, and directed all the information technology functions for the organization's worldwide operations. As CIO, provided leadership and oversight for the agency's worldwide IT operations and modernization of systems in support of agency's mission. As CFO, led the implementation of a new, integrated, highly complex financial management system, with ORACLE  at the backend, for the agency's domestic offices and overseas operations in 72 countries, thereby providing a scalable platform to support the organization's growth in the 21st century and fulfilling congressionally mandated financial reporting requirements, including submission to the United States Congress on November 15, 2004 the first set of audited financial statements in agency's 43-year history. ( The Peace Corps Performance and Accountability Report) Private Sector Career. International Technology Consultants, Inc.. From 1996 to 2002, Khanna was president and CEO of International Technology Consultants, Inc., a Minneapolis-based IT and Management Consulting firm providing services to  Fortune 1000 companies. American Hardware Insurance Group. From 1990 to 1996, he was with the American Hardware Insurance Group, a Minneapolis-based property and casualty insurance group, where he held several positions including vice president of operations, vice president of systems, and vice president of information technology and administration. National Council on Compensation Insurance. From 1981 to 1990, he was with the National Council on Compensation Insurance in Boca Raton, Florida, where he held several positions including director of operations and director of strategic planning. Prior to that, Khanna lived in New York City where he held positions in marketing , sales management, merchandising, and corporate training and development with the MONY Financial Services Group. Civic and community engagement. Khanna served former Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson from 1993-1994 as his appointee to the Minnesota Academic Excellence Foundation. In 2007, Khanna travelled with Governor Tim Pawlenty as a member of a Minnesota Trade Delegation to India and visited sites in Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai opening trade opportunities between Minnesota and India. Early years and Education. A citizen of the United States of America, Gopal Khanna was born and raised in India. He hails from a family whose patriarch Rai Saheb Ganesh  Prashad settled in Kanpur, India after his retirement from service in the Indian Railways during the British Raj. Gopal Khanna received his early education in a boarding school at St. Francis' College in Lucknow, India. Khanna was a member of school cricket, field hockey, soccer, and debating teams. Gopal Khanna earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with concentration in Economics, Mathematics, and Political Science from Christ Church College, Kanpur, India. He then pursued his higher education at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Maine where he earned his MBA.