UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) recently welcomed three new additions to its Dean’s Advisory Board: Doug Balog, founder and president of DB Group Consulting LLC and recently a senior executive at IBM; Angela Govila, executive director, product lead for embedded banking at J.P. Morgan Payments; and Chandra McMahon, senior vice president and chief information security officer at CVS Health.
They join other Penn State alumni, friends and corporate leaders on the Dean’s Advisory Board in providing strategic guidance and counsel to shape the future of the college. They will each serve a three-year term.
“The combined industry experience and insight from vastly different domains that Angela, Chandra and Doug bring complement and strengthen the board’s collective expertise in areas where the college continues to grow,” said Andrew Sears, dean of the College of IST. “I look forward to their unique vantage points and guidance as we continue to contemplate the college’s future to ensure we continue to position students as top talent in a rapidly-evolving industry.”
Doug Balog
A seasoned executive in the information technology industry, Balog is currently an investor, consultant and board member or advisor for numerous technology companies involved in areas such as hybrid cloud, data protection, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence and machine learning. Previously, Balog spent 37 years at IBM and was a senior executive for IBM’s Systems Business, a role in which he was responsible for the innovation, sales and growth of their Storage, Server and Mainframe businesses.
“Technology does not stand still; in fact, it accelerates constantly given the pace of innovation,” said Balog. “I feel like the College of IST is at the core of meeting the demands of the IT market, and has continue to make the right moves to work across the University in addressing the skills needed in these areas for today and tomorrow.”
He added, “With a 30+ year career as an IT executive having worked on leading-edge technologies and their adoption by some of the largest customers and federal agencies in the world, I look forward to leveraging this wealth of experience in continuing to guide the path taken by the college in navigating these fast-moving trends.”
Balog earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Penn State in 1983. In 2020, he and his family established the Balog Family Educational Equity Scholarship in the College of Information Sciences and Technology to support students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Angela Govila
A 2005 graduate of the College of IST, Govila has more than a decade of deep experience in driving digital transformation and product management for highly recognized competitive fintech products. She is a recent Fellow from the Aspen Institute’s Tech Policy Hub and has led strategic initiatives at Capital One, Ernst & Young and General Electric.
“The Dean’s Advisory Board exists to bridge the gap between what the industry needs and what students are getting prepared for, and so they can have game-changing careers,” said Govila. “Through the education I got at IST, I felt like someone before me had put that thought in to the curriculum (and it’s led me to success in my career). I don’t know who those people are, but I’m very grateful to them and I look forward to paying it forward and creating the same opportunities for current students.”
As a woman of color working in an industry with a significant diversity gap, Govila aims to create more opportunities for all students, specifically those from underrepresented backgrounds. To realize her goal, she and her husband created the Govila and Tarnacha Educational Equity Scholarship in the College of Information Sciences and Technology in 2021.
“When I was a student I didn’t know anyone in the industry, there were very few women in tech when I started working in 2005 and even fewer people of color. I’m also really petite — under five feet tall— and I get lost in the crowd,” said Govila. “So I want to be a role model to minority students and exemplify what they can achieve. Because representation matters, and I want everyone to feel like they belong and that they can do anything.”
Chandra McMahon
McMahon provides overall leadership, vision and direction for CVS Health’s information security program, working across the organization’s business units to protect the security and integrity of customer and company data as well as the company’s overall brand in the marketplace. She currently is a member of the Aspen Institute Cyber Strategy Group, a cross-sector public-private forum aimed at translating pressing cybersecurity conversations into action.
“I look forward to leveraging my experience to support the Dean’s Advisory Board and influencing IST’s curriculums to help prepare students for their future careers,” said McMahon. “As a leader in the cybersecurity space, I believe it is important to inspire more students to pursue cyber and other technology-forward careers.”
McMahon holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and operations research from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and a master’s degree in engineering science from Penn State.