David Durkee To Head County IT Dept.

County Executive Laura Neuman hired a NASA contractor and former colleague Tuesday to lead the county’s Department of Information Technology.

Richard Durkee of Davidsonville is replacing William Ryan, the fourth person to lose his job since Neuman was appointed county executive last week. Ryan worked for the county for 31 years.

In a statement, Neuman said Durkee will develop a plan to help the county use technology more efficiently.

“Data is the key to efficiency and measuring results,” Neuman said.

Durkee is a contractor providing information technology services and support to NASA headquarters. He served as chief operating officer of Matrics, a Howard County-based technology company, when Neuman was its CEO.

The company, once near bankruptcy, was sold for $230 million in 2004.

“Our goal is to modernize county government and do it in a fiscally responsible way,” Durkee said in a statement.

Durkee, 57, has a bachelor’s of science degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a master’s degree in business administration from Loyola University, Neuman’s alma mater. The appointment is effective Monday.