Morris, based in Granite Bay, said he’s working with EY’s Angela Basi, managing partner for EY in Sacramento, on serving all of California’s state, county and city governments.
“EY has decided to get back into the state and local government markets,” Morris told Techwire, after EY sold that end of its business to Cap Gemini in 2000. “Circumstances have played out that we see a huge opportunity to get back into the state and local marketplace, being one of the big four consulting/accounting firms.
“So my role, really, is to come in and help government transform,” he said. “How do they re-envision their mission? What should they be in the business of doing, and how should they be going about doing that? And EY is the type of firm that we can help them completely rethink that — how they accomplish the mission with digital transformation. That can really change the way an agency meets the needs of its constituents.”
Morris said his role goes beyond sales and service.
“My role is to work with the Governor’s Office, the Legislature, all the stakeholders within government … to deliver better services for those of us who live in California. I have city, state, county — it’s a huge patch. Right now, I’m working with Angela to cover the entire state of California. I’d be busy just covering the state, just Sacramento-based stuff. But we have to prioritize, that’s something we’re learning. We have to decide who we want to be as a firm and what opportunities we want to pursue and where we can offer the most value right away.”
Working remotely isn’t new for Morris, who’s covered large geographic territories in the past, but he said he’s looking forward to being able to resume in-person events once the COVID-19 restrictions are eased. He said he misses opportunities to network at events, and he’s looking forward to being able to once again take advantage of the spontaneity of on-site events.
“We’re going to be part of the CIO Academy,” he noted. Working remotely “has made it harder” to develop and maintain relationships, he said, but he looks to his past to navigate the future.
“Luckily, I have a pretty strong network already, since I’ve been covering the state of California since ’93, when I first started my career. I’ve built up a lot of connections, and I really know the inner workings of how the state agencies operate, so I can make my way around.” He uses LinkedIn and other social media to nurture those relationships.
“I miss the lunches — I love going out and enjoying a business lunch,” he said. “You sit down for lunch and you get to know them on a personal level, and that’s really valuable.”
Before joining EY, Morris spent eight years with Gartner, first as senior account executive covering state government, then as Global Client director serving Kaiser Permanente. Before Gartner, Morris’ professional affiliations included ExecuTrain and Strategy Execution.
Morris received his bachelor’s degree in French from UC Davis, his master’s in business administration from Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business and his project management certification from The George Washington University. He has served as a missionary with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Belgium, France and Luxembourg.
