After more than three weeks without a murmur about who would be replacing former CIO Liana Bailey-Crimmins as director of the California Department of Technology, Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed Christopher Given to fill the leadership role.
Bailey-Crimmins officially retired from the role April 6, after about five years. She had previously served as the department’s chief technology officer.
Though the governor’s office didn’t specify that Given holds the title of CIO, the department director is also traditionally the state’s CIO. This position requires Senate confirmation.
Given, for his part, is no stranger to the state technology arena and has been serving as the deputy secretary for technology and innovation with the Government Operations Agency (GovOps) since last year.
Prior to joining GovOps, Given served multiple roles within the federal government, including as Direct File product lead with the Internal Revenue Service from 2024 to 2025, and as a digital services expert with the U.S. Digital Service from 2016 to 2019 and again from 2020 to 2024.
Given also brings private-sector experience, having served as a senior data engineer with Skylight Digital between 2019 and 2020.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political studies from Bard College.
Newsom Appoints GovOps Insider to Fill CDT Director Spot
Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed another government technology executive to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of former CIO and California Department of Technology Director Liana Bailey-Crimmins.
