Digital Transformation Leader, James Rinaldi, Keynotes Our September Assembly!

On September 22nd, The Millennium Alliance Digital Enterprise CIO & Data Transformation Assembly kicks off with a keynote address from James Rinaldi, Chief Information Technology Advisor, and former CIO at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. After 14 years serving as JPL’s CIO, he currently advises the organization on the future strategy for IT vision. He is a strong believer that IT is imperative for true business alignment across all departments, and is a recognized leader in data & technology. Rinaldi is an 8-time winner of the CIO100 Awards, and his team at JPL has been recognized as a “Best Place to Work in IT” 7 years in a row. 

In his keynote address, Rinaldi will discuss the future of IT, provide an introduction to JPL, and answer questions from our audience of C-Suite executives. Interested in learning from one of the most influential voices in technology? Go here to request an invitation to the virtual assembly!

About James Rinaldi

James Rinaldi is JPL’s Chief Information Technology Advisor to the Office of the Director. He was the JPL CIO until October 2019, where he stepped out after 14 years. His current role is to create a future IT vision and strategy for the Lab looking out to 2025 and beyond. 

James is currently the Executive Director of Innovate@UCLA and an Avasant Senior Fellow and member of Avasant’s Fellows Executive Committee. 

As CIO, James had direct management responsibility over JPL’s Information Technology Directorate. Works closely with JPL management, supporting end-users of the engineering, interplanetary network, and finance/business operations. James sat on the JPL Executive Council and various management councils. He developed the IT strategy, budgets and executed major IT contracts. He actively participated in NASA IT governance councils. 

James has more than 30 years of experience with information systems in government and industry. Prior to joining JPL as CIO, James was Chief Information Officer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration where he had overall responsibility for the planning, development, and delivery of information systems across the FDA. At FDA, James modernizes many areas of need, including systems to manage food imports for safety and security reasons. Prior to FDA, he was the Chief of Information Technology Services at the IRS and Chief of Business Systems Integration. While at the IRS, James helped develop the Free Tax Alliance e-Gov initiative as well as provide guidance and expertise on the IRS Modernization efforts. James spent nearly 16 years at the Marriott Corporation in Bethesda, MD, where his last position was senior vice president for information resources, operations, and services. James has a bachelor of arts in computer science from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. He has successfully completed executive and leadership development programs. James is an award recipient of the several CIO 100 and Federal 100 awards, as well as numerous industry awards. James has sat on several non-profit boards and industry advisory councils.