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Gartner Expert
John Kost
Distinguished VP Analyst
As a Distinguished Vice President Analyst in Government research, John Kost focuses on the ability of government to execute transformation by engaging senior government political and executive leaders in understanding and improving the role of the government CIO, IT governance models, citizen experience management, critical success factors for shared services and centralization, and, for IT executives, in mastering the politics of IT leadership in government.
Mr. Kost is internationally renowned for his work in IT governance, government transformation, information technology management and procurement reform.
Previous experience
Mr. Kost spent 20 years in government in the state of Michigan, where he was actively involved at executive levels in government transformation and management reform. His tenure culminated in his becoming state chief information officer (1992-1996), the first state CIO in the United States. During his tenure as CIO, he led a massive infrastructure consolidation and organizational centralization effort and was also responsible for the state's procurement process.
Mr. Kost previously served as chief deputy state welfare director and director of policy for the Michigan Senate. He began his state government career in 1976 as a welfare caseworker. After leaving government in 1996, Mr. Kost remained active in supporting government IT through private-sector roles, including starting the state and local sales organization for a large enterprise software vendor, serving as head of worldwide business development for a large government-oriented system integrator, and starting a state and local division for a consulting firm.
Professional background
Siebel Systems
National Sales Director - State and Local Government
TRW
Vice President - Public Sector Solutions
Federal Sources
Senior Vice President - State and Local Government
Areas of coverage
Government Verticals Digital Innovation and Application Modernization
Governmentwide Digital Innovation and Application Modernization
Education
Attended the State and Local Executive Program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and is a contributor to the Leadership for a Networked World program at the Kennedy School
M.P.A., Public Administration, Michigan State University
B.A., Political Science, University of Michigan
Top Issues That I Help Clients Address
1Creating or recreating the role of CIO
2Analyzing and identifying the right model for governance
3Identifying the critical success factors that will enable shared services and centralization including business relationship management
4Mastering the politics of IT leadership in government
5Helping assess project or product governance to improve probability of success