Senate confirms Nate Denny as state technology secretary and chief information officer

The North Carolina Senate has confirmed Nate Denny as secretary of the N.C. Department of Information Technology and state chief information officer.

The department announced the confirmation May 13, saying Denny will continue leading statewide technology strategy, cybersecurity, digital services and broadband efforts.

Denny has more than two decades of public-sector experience at the state and federal levels, according to NCDIT. He most recently served as principal at EQV Strategic and previously held several roles at NCDIT from 2017 to 2025, including deputy secretary, chief of staff and legislative director.

During his previous tenure as deputy secretary, Denny led broadband expansion initiatives for three years. NCDIT said he oversaw the award of more than $500 million in funding intended to connect nearly 187,000 North Carolinians to reliable high-speed internet.

The confirmation places Denny in charge of a department that touches several major state policy areas, including cybersecurity, digital accessibility, broadband access, state technology services and digital government operations.

Broadband expansion remains a major issue for rural communities, schools, businesses and health care access. At the same time, state agencies face ongoing pressure to modernize public-facing services and protect government systems from cyber threats.

Denny said he was grateful for the confidence placed in him and thanked Gov. Josh Stein for his trust. He said he looks forward to working across state government to make technology more secure, effective and easier for North Carolinians to use.

Denny is a North Carolina native and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law.

His confirmation gives the Stein administration a permanent leader at NCDIT as the state continues broadband deployment, cybersecurity planning and technology modernization work across agencies.

Editor’s note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.