Ben Cohen

Guest

Ben Cohen has served as Chief Information Officer for the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) since 2014. He began his career with MDOT in 2001 as a software developer supporting the agency’s financial system. After nine years, he transitioned into a project management role, leading a team responsible for software support across the financial and fleet management systems. As CIO, Cohen has led the Information Systems Division with a focus on advancing mobile application development, enhancing field data collection capabilities, expanding business intelligence and reporting, and strengthening workforce development initiatives. More recently, the division has begun exploring the application of artificial intelligence to improve operational efficiency, decision-making, and service delivery, while also leading an effort to modernize MDOT’s financial platform for project cost accounting. Under his leadership, the division supports a wide range of mission-critical systems, a colocated data center environment, and a statewide traffic network of more than 1,000 cameras. Cohen holds a Master of Science in Computer Science from Mississippi College (2006) and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Southern Mississippi (2001).

Appears in 1 Episode