THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the state government appointing Kerala State IT Mission director Snehil Kumar Singh as chief executive officer in charge of Kerala IT Parks, an earlier decision by the government to have dedicated CEOs for Technaopark and Infopark on a permanent basis will be delayed further. Singh was given additional charge after John M Thomas was relieved of the charge on Friday.
The government decided to appoint separate CEOs to ensure decentralised development at the IT parks.
Earlier, there were apprehensions by the top management of IT parks that a single CEO for all the IT parks in the state will undermine development and investments.
The government invited applications for the posts six years after the two parks had separate CEOs. A government order on the qualification and criteria for appointment to the posts was issued on June 25. The deadline to apply was July 31.
A source close to the IT department said that the selection process for the new CEO will take at least two to three months. “Now, it has been decided to give additional charge of the interim CEO to Snehil Kumar. The interview part is over. The next step is to shortlist the candidates. Later, we need to discuss the scope of work and job responsibilities. The candidates should be good at management as well as in technology skills. The selection will be finalised in a cabinet meeting to be held in two to three months, “ a source said.
New CMO post
The IT department has also decided to create a new post of ‘chief marketing officer’ CMO) who will oversee the IT investments coming to the state and will have the responsibility of attracting major IT companies to Technopark, Infopark, and Cyberpark.
A source said that the appointment of the CMO will take place before the appointment of CEOs and the incumbent is expected to assume charge in a month. However, the Cyberpark at Kozhikode will not have a CEO for the time being since the government decided to entrust the Cyberpark general manager with the continued charge of overseeing the IT park’s functioning.