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DGS' Kim: CIO Skarr 'Rebooted Our IT Shop'

After more than 20 years in the service of state government, CIO Rebecca Skarr of the Department of General Services announced Wednesday that she’s retiring. Her boss, DGS Director Daniel Kim, had something to say about her and her tenure.

After more than 20 years in the service of state government, CIO Rebecca Skarr of the California Department of General Services announced Wednesday that she’s retiring.

Here’s what her boss, DGS Director Daniel Kim, had to say about that:

“She's been an incredible leader who simultaneously has rebooted our IT shop, built trust with our internal customers and served as a change agent within DGS.”

So what’s next for Skarr, who’s been the DGS CIO since January 2014?

“I plan to enjoy my wonderful family and friends, volunteer, and appreciate each day,” said the CSU Chico alumna. “I have two boys ... in high school and a wonderful husband. I really want to spend more time with them.”

The position — one of several open or soon-to-be-open CIO positions within state government — will be advertised on the CalHR website as a Career Executive Assignment (CEA) job.

In his comments, DGS chief Kim also had this to say about Skarr: “She is one of those unique leaders who has the right vision and can actually execute it. I am really going to miss Rebecca. We will miss her, but she's built a great team within ETS, so we at DGS will be in great shape even as she leaves.”

In an exit interview of sorts, Skarr responded to some questions from Techwire:

Techwire: What are you most proud about, or gratified by, after a tenure of more than 20 years in public service?

Skarr: I’m most gratified by working with amazing teams that consistently delivered quality solutions, offering tremendous business value, and served the people of California. I enjoyed seeing individuals and my team accomplish things they did not think were possible, all while having fun along the way. I am proud of bringing new technologies, infrastructure and business solutions to production that exceeded customer expectations.

TW: What do you see as the top two or three issues or projects DGS should be looking at as we close out 2017?

Skarr: With more than 3,000 people, DGS has more than 25 IT initiatives running simultaneously. Each is being addressed by DGS’ highly skilled IT staff, with results evident on a daily basis. Some efforts under way include implementing a new DGS website, service management tool, learning management system, and dashboarding; while enhancing user experience, information security and deploying application failover.

TW: Advice for your successor?

Skarr: Never stop looking for ways to improve operations and business value. Appreciate the tremendous opportunity! You absolutely have the best IT team, your business partners want to work with you, and you have outstanding support from both executive staff and the agency. It’s a place where efforts materialize in completed projects. You will never find a better team!

Skarr was among the speakers in September at the California Tech Forum in Sacramento under the auspices of e.Republic, Techwire's parent company. She spoke about the importance of intuitive IT accessibility and a better user experience. She was also the subject of a Techwire Q-and-A in June 2015

 

Dennis Noone is Executive Editor of Industry Insider. He is a career journalist, having worked at small-town newspapers and major metropolitan dailies including USA Today in Washington, D.C.