CIO Announcements from Ohio University, Connextions and BOK Financial

Security Focus reports that Ohio University’s CIO, William Sams, has stepped down following security breaches that took place in April and May 2006 and that compromised 367,000 personal records. In a related announcement, the university suspended its director of computing and network services and its systems manager.

Albert Prast joined Connextions, a provider of contact center and supply chain management services for businesses, as its EVP and CIO.  Prast, 46, joined the Orlando, Fla.-based company from Rotech Healthcare, where he served as CIO and CTO. During his 13-year tenure at Rotech, the MIT Sloan School grad established the IT infrastructure that helped the company grow from 40 locations and $62 million in revenue to 500 locations and $560 million in revenue.

American Banker reported earlier this week at BOK Financial hired Dennis Rygwalski as its CTO.  After serving as CIO of FleetBoston Financial from 1999 to 2001, Rygwalski joined business process management software provider Exigen as the general manager of its finance industry solutions group.

e-Smart Technologies elected Gary Messina to its board of directors.  Messina is a former CIO of the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.  He retired from that post in 2004 to join the private sector.  Messina currently serves as a corporate director for L-3 Communications’ homeland security and defense operations.