State of Hawaii Enterprise Financial System

On June 28, 2024, Gov. Josh Green, appointed Christine Maii Sakuda as the new State Chief Information Officer (CIO) and administrator of the Office of Enterprise Technology Services (ETS). Upon starting her new role on August 5, Sakuda will succeed former CIO Doug Murdock and report directly to the State Comptroller. She will also serve as the newest executive sponsor for the EFS Project.  

Similar to other specific appointments by the Governor, Sakuda’s appointment is still subject to Senate confirmation.

“We welcome Christine to our executive team and look forward to her ongoing enthusiasm and leadership to help move the State forward,” said Keith A. Regan, Comptroller of DAGS.

With a well-established reputation as a trailblazer and exemplary leader in the nonprofit sector, Sakuda is making history as the State’s first female CIO and the first person of Native Hawaiian ancestry to hold this position.

“I believe it’s a great time to be a part of state government and to be partnering with those who are passionate public servants who all share a common vision to make the business of government work for the people of Hawaiʻi,” said Sakuda. “I’m looking forward to facilitating the transformation of technology systems and business processes so that the state can be more efficient and responsive to the people of Hawaiʻi, now and for future generations.”

Although this will be Sakuda’s first venture in the public sector, she brings more than 25 years of experience in leading enterprise-level IT initiatives. Her previous experience included leading community IT systems development, managing stakeholder relations, and collaborating with IT vendors to implement a range of technology modernization projects.

“I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to continue to help with modernization from within State government,” said Sakuda. “As State CIO, I would like to harness the wealth of insights and perspectives of the ETS team, other department and program leaders, and community stakeholders to better understand the challenges and opportunities in the State to develop a comprehensive, longer-range enterprise resource planning roadmap.”  

Before joining ETS, Sakuda served as the first executive director of Transform Hawaii Government (THG), a nonprofit organization dedicated to catalyzing the modernization of public services through people, processes, and technology. Prior to THG, she also served as the Executive Director of the Hawaiʻi Health Information Exchange (HHIE), where she led efforts to help healthcare providers implement electronic health records and further implement a statewide health information exchange that enabled local healthcare providers to efficiently and securely share patients’ health information across a network of different medical records systems.

In addition to her professional achievements, Sakuda is an Omidyar Fellow, an Executive Committee Member of the TRUE Initiative, and has served as Vice Chair of the State’s Information Technology Steering Committee. A proud graduate of ‘Iolani School, Sakuda received a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Santa Clara University and later earned a Japan-focused Executive Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.