Mason Tanaka is a seasoned information technology executive with more than 40 years of experience spanning military service, private industry, and state government. His career reflects a deep commitment to innovation, strategic leadership, and public service.
Mr. Tanaka served 20 years in the United States Air Force, followed by 12 years in the commercial IT sector, before joining the State of Alabama in 2013. Since then, he has held several state-level executive leadership roles, including Director of IT Strategic Planning and Policy, Director of the Information Services Division, Assistant Secretary of IT, and Chief Information Security Officer.
Appointed Deputy Commissioner and Chief Information Officer of the Alabama Medicaid Agency in 2017, Mr. Tanaka leads a broad portfolio of enterprise initiatives and programs. These include Medicaid Enterprise System (MES) modernization, legacy MMIS operations, Health Information Exchange (HIE), Electronic Visit Verification (EVV), Eligibility and Enrollment (E&E) systems, cybersecurity, project and data governance, IT operations, infrastructure management, and application development.
Under his leadership, Alabama Medicaid has advanced a comprehensive digital transformation strategy, aligning technology investments with mission-critical goals to enhance service delivery, strengthen operational resilience, and improve stakeholder engagement.