Kimberly LaGrue
LaGrue is the chief information officer for the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.
GoldenGov: City Executive of the Year
At the onset of New Orleans’ ransomware attack in December 2019, Kimberly LaGrue quickly set disaster recovery plans into motion. Under her leadership, internet connections across data centers and virtual machines were shut down, allowing the city to quickly identify the source of the attack and prevent hackers from demanding a ransom. With no way to evaluate the extent of the damage, the city had to test and sanitize all data and find a safer place to store it, requiring storage to nearly double overnight. Restoring data and moving it to a secure system was key to a swift recovery.