As part of Industry Insider — California’s ongoing efforts to educate readers on state agencies, their IT plans and initiatives, here’s the latest in our periodic series of interviews with departmental IT leaders.
Sean O’Connor is chief information officer at one of the state’s newer departments, the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), a role he has had since June. The department was created July 12, 2021, via Assembly Bill 141, consolidating the regulatory, licensing and enforcement functions of three other programs. The new department, which is part of the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, merges the Bureau of Cannabis Control under the Department of Consumer Affairs; the CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Division under the Department of Food and Agriculture; and the Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch under the Department of Public Health.
O’Connor is a longtime state employee whose career dates to July 2010, when he joined the Department of Consumer Affairs’ (DCA) Office of Information Services as business project manager. Prior to joining DCC, O’Connor was most recently chief of project oversight and administration at DCA, a role he had had since October 2017. He has a Master of Public Policy and Administration degree from California State University, Sacramento.
Industry Insider — California: As CIO at your organization, how do you describe your role? How have your role and responsibilities changed in recent years in terms of their intersection with IT and innovation?
O’Connor: As CIO for the Department of Cannabis Control, I see my role at the highest level as a “technology facilitator.” For our internal staff, this means connecting them with software products, tools and services that allow them to review license applications, inspect cannabis businesses, investigate consumer complaints, and research trends in the industry. For consumers, applicants and licensees, this means providing them with opportunities to engage with the department using technology that makes their lives easier and feels familiar to how they utilize technology in other areas of their life. In recent years, public-sector IT, much like other industries, has had to get agile. The way everyone works has changed, and we must respond to that change quickly with innovations like paperless workflow processes, reliable software collaboration tools, and large virtual public meetings, to name a few. In some cases, the tools have been there, but we are now using them at a different scale in response to the changes we’ve all experienced. I see the role of a CIO as someone who leads from the front on this type of change, getting his or her hands dirty with other IT staff to show business users exactly how these tools can meet their business needs.
Industry Insider — California: Does your organization have a strategic plan, and may we hyperlink to it? How big a role do you personally play in writing that strategic plan?
O’Connor: The Department of Cannabis Control is in the process of formulating its strategic plan. The CIO, like all members of the executive team, plays an active role in the identification of strategic goals and objectives. Once completed, the strategic plan will reflect the input of IT as well as all other business areas within the department.
Industry Insider — California: What big initiatives or projects are coming up? What sorts of developing opportunities and RFPs should we be watching for in the next six to 12 months?
O’Connor: Being a newer department, we have our hands full scaling up our staffing capacity to meet our operational needs along with embarking on some reportable project-level endeavors over the next couple years. We have been extremely fortunate that all the department’s legacy agencies, meaning the agencies who previously oversaw the regulatory scope that now falls under the department, have been fantastic partners. They have been generous with their time in assisting the department towards being able to stand alone. From a project perspective, we are pursuing implementation of an enterprise business intelligence and data warehousing tool over the next 12 months. Additionally, we are looking at opportunities to consolidate the licensing and enforcement systems that previously were split across our three legacy agencies into one consolidated system. With both efforts, I anticipate we will be releasing multiple opportunities for consulting partnerships and software purchases.
Industry Insider — California: How do you define “digital transformation?” How far along is your organization in that process, and how will you know when it’s finished?
O’Connor: To me, “digital transformation” is modernizing how the state conducts business through technology at all scales. Modernization can happen on a software application that will impact all our licensed businesses, or it can happen at a smaller scale and improve the way, internally, that staff process and review potential regulation updates. Because technology is always improving and changing, I don’t believe I’ll ever view this “digital transformation” as finished. My goal is to put us in a position to keep pace with other state government organizations who are at the forefront of capitalizing on exciting technology opportunities. For a newer organization, I think we are keeping pace with other state organizations and are aligned with our values as a department, which includes innovation. Part of that commitment is sharing the data we have so Californians, from licensees and consumers to policymakers and local jurisdictions, can make informed decisions. We have a data visualization tool on our website that maps out where cannabis licenses are allowed and have a cannabis licensing search that allows users easy access to up-to-date information. Lastly, we invest time in market research to understand what additional tools and products we can bring into our enterprise to improve our services.
Industry Insider — California: What is your estimated IT budget and how many employees do you have? What is the overall budget?
O’Connor: As I mentioned, our division is still working on a few critical components. I think it would be too early to share details about our budget and employee numbers, and at this juncture prefer to decline comment.
Industry Insider — California: How do you prefer to be contacted by vendors, including via social media such as LinkedIn? How might vendors best educate themselves before meeting with you?
O’Connor: IT vendors who are interested in partnering with our organization are best served by contacting me via my work email. In the interest of public agency transparency, I prefer to funnel all discussions about potential business opportunities away from private social media platforms. Spending some time on the Department of Cannabis Control’s website (what a GREAT website!) to learn about the department’s regulatory scope, upcoming law changes, and proposed regulation changes shows me a vendor can do their homework and makes me feel less like I’m getting spammed.
Industry Insider — California: In your tenure in this position, which project or achievement are you most proud of?
O’Connor: I have only been in this position for about four months, so that’s not a lot of runway to deliver anything big, but we have several exciting things cooking. I am fortunate to work with executive leaders who view technology improvement as a business necessity. With that level of support, our dedicated IT staff, and successful vendor partnerships, we are poised to accomplish a lot over the course of the next few years.
Industry Insider — California: What do you read to stay abreast of developments in the gov tech/SLED sector?
O’Connor: I try to visit the GovTech* website as much as my busy schedule allows.
*Government Technology magazine is a publication of e.Republic, which also produces Industry Insider — California.
Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for style and brevity.
New Department CIO on Strategic Plan, Upcoming IT Projects
