The California Student Aid Commission, whose mission is to make postsecondary education affordable for all state residents, has named technology veteran Ken Ketsdever as its new chief information officer (CIO).
Ketsdever has been in state service for 16 years, having most recently served as chief information security officer for the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal).
He posted the news of his new role on his LinkedIn profile Tuesday.
“I’m excited to share that I’ve started a new position as Chief Information Officer at California Student Aid Commission!” he wrote. “First goal is to fill current vacancies including key positions at Chief Technology Officer and Supervisor II over the Service Desk. If you or someone you know of enjoys a (fast-paced), proactive, can-do environment, let’s talk.”
Those job recruitments will be posted soon on CalCareers.
Ketsdever joined FI$Cal in December 2021 as part of that department’s new management team under then-Director Miriam Barcellona Ingenito, who has since been named undersecretary of the California Government Operations Agency. In his role with FI$Cal, Ketsdever supported the department’s Enterprise Security Services Office and worked to align the department’s security initiatives and goals with Cal-Secure, the state’s cybersecurity road map.
Before his tenure as FI$Cal’s CISO, Ketsdever served from February 2015 through December 2021 as CIO and information security officer for the California Department of Aging. He began his state service with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, serving as a data processing manager from January 2007 through February 2015. Before that, he had worked for Penn Corp Financial and BloodSource.
Ketsdever is a Marine Corps veteran with a degree in international relations from San Francisco State University. According to his LinkedIn profile, he enjoys working on classic cars and speaks Japanese. He has bungee-jumped, skydived, scuba-dived, rock-climbed, raced bicycles, run in dozens of races including the Los Angeles Marathon, and participated in triathlons in the USA, Guam, Saipan and Japan.
Stay tuned to Industry Insider — California for an interview with Ketsdever.
Ketsdever Named CIO for California Student Aid Commission
Technology veteran Ken Ketsdever has held a series of leadership positions in state government, including chief information officer and chief information security officer.
