The new chief information officer for the California High Speed Rail Authority (HSR) is Jeff Vargas, according to HRS spokesperson Matt Rocco.
Vargas has spent the last five years in charge of IT Infrastructure support and data center operations at the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS).
Prior to serving at DHCS, he ran an IT consulting company he founded, called VPN Technology, which had state agency clients such as the Department of General Services and the Secretary of State’s Office.
Vargas will report to the chief of administrative services and serve as a technology advisor to CEO Jeff Morales. As CIO, he will be responsible for overseeing IT policies and practices. He will also “direct critical tasks associated with IT architecture, operations, projects and strategic planning,” said an agency statement emailed on Friday.
The HSR is charged with designing and building California’s high-speed rail system. Trains will travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles in less than three hours, reaching speeds of more than 200 miles per hour, says the agency’s website.
