Teri Takai is the senior vice president of the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. She worked for Ford Motor Company for 30 years in global application development and information technology strategic planning. From Ford, she moved to EDS, a subsidiary of General Motors.

Teri’s interest in public service led her to the government sector. She has held CIO positions in the states of Michigan and California and was subsequently the first woman appointed to CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense. She then served as the CIO for Meridian Health Plan.

Teri has won numerous awards, including Governing magazine’s Public Official of the Year, CIO magazine’s CIO Hall of Fame, Government Technology magazine’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers, the Women in Defense Excellence in Leadership Award, and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.