David Duarte has been chief information officer at the California State Treasurer’s Office since April 2019. He was previously assistant division chief of the enterprise solutions development division at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System for five years; and before that, was CIO at the Financial Information System for California from October 2012 through March 2014.
He holds a bachelor of science degree in management information systems, general from California State University, Sacramento.
Techwire: As CIO of your organization, how do you describe your role; and how have the role and responsibilities of the CIO changed in recent years?
Duarte: I see my role as the chief information officer (CIO) at the State Treasurer’s Office (STO) as a partner with our various divisions, boards, commissions and authorities. I assist them in making their strategic visions become reality by having technology implemented that will enable the business to adapt quickly to the changing needs of our taxpayers. In the past, CIOs’ roles focused on the more technical and operational side of business, but that has changed in recent years as providing innovation and transformation to an organization is essential to adjusting to our digital society. Providing innovation and transformation requires that you are leading an organization through organizational change, which can be significant.
Techwire: How big a role do you personally play in writing your organization’s strategic plan?
Duarte: Each division and board, commission, authority under the STO has strategic plans that have nexus to the IT department. I have been meeting with our executive staff on understanding each of their business needs and developing strategies on how IT can assist in meeting the demands of their operations.
Techwire: What big initiatives or projects are coming in 2021? What sorts of RFPs should we be watching for in the next six to 12 months?
Duarte: There are many initiatives that STO will be working on in 2021. Security will be on the top of our list. In addition, the STO will be working on application, infrastructure and operations modernizations. STO will begin planning and migrating services that are best fit for the cloud. Like many organizations, STO will also evaluate technologies to allow a paperless (digital signatures, workflow, etc.) and remote office that will enable staff to work efficiently under the emergency telework environment during this pandemic. STO will also be conducting an operational performance evaluation of the Information Technology Division (ITD). The operational performance evaluation will provide the STO-ITD with research and analysis to determine the appropriate IT service delivery model for the workload responsibilities assigned to and completed by the ITD within the STO.
Techwire: How do you define “digital transformation,” and how far along is your organization in that process? How will you know when it's finished?
Duarte: I would define digital transformation as taking digital technology and implementing it throughout your organization. STO is in the very early stage of digital transformation as many of our business processes are still paper-based. STO business processes were originally designed for staff being present at one of our office locations, and that changed as a result of the pandemic. Like many organizations during this time, we are all working in a very fluid environment that requires us to pivot quickly to meet the demand of the situation. As business demands are increasing at a rapid pace, technology is also being implemented resulting in significant shift in business operations. As with all challenges, there are opportunities. As for how will we know when digital transformation is finished, I don’t think we will get there, as business and technology are constantly changing.
Techwire: What is your estimated IT budget and how many employees do you have?
Duarte: STO’s ITD budget is approximately $8 million annually with 46.5 IT staff in its division.
Techwire: 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?
Duarte: I would prefer vendors contact me by sending me an email or phone call. Before meeting with me, I would like for vendors to educate themselves on our business and be prepared to educate me on how their services or products can best be utilized at STO to add value.
Techwire: In your tenure in this position, which project or achievement are you most proud of?
Duarte: I have only been at STO for just under two years, and the thing I am most proud of is STO-ITD staff transitioning the agency into an emergency telework environment in a short period of time. Over the last 10 months, STO ITD staff have migrated email services to the cloud, implemented video conferencing for organization and board meetings, implemented a virtual desk environment, and modernized its firewalls. This was accomplished through staff’s hard work and vendor collaboration.
Techwire: If you could change one thing about IT procurement, what would it be?
Duarte: The time it takes to procure services or products is one thing I would change about IT procurement. It is important to have proper controls in place, but my mind is a little like private sector. I think of how quickly I can get my business partner’s service to our taxpayers.
Techwire: What do you read to stay abreast of developments in the gov tech/SLED sector?
Duarte: I read a variety of trade publications that help me stay abreast of developments in government technology. I tend to be more of a visual/audio learner so I will watch a lot of webinars, podcasts and presentations by industry leaders.
Techwire: What are your hobbies, and what do you enjoy reading?
Duarte: I like to study architecture, travel (made it to five of the seven continents), BBQ and make wine with my brother. What do I enjoy reading? I would have to say anything where I can learn something new to do. My family would say ‘Don’t be surprised if he brings his laptop with some new technology book to read on vacation.’ I am a techie at heart.
Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for style and brevity.
