Scott MacDonald has more than 30 years’ experience in the public and private sectors, with a deep background in application development, enterprise architecture, telecommunications, server administration and information security.
“As I step into this position,” MacDonald said Friday in a statement to Techwire, “I will be looking to continue the innovation and development of technologies actively planned and underway that support the vision of CDT and the state, as well as looking for new opportunities that transform the way technology supports critical state services.”
As deputy CTO, MacDonald succeeds Ellen Ishimoto, a 30-year veteran of state service who retired at the end of December as acting state CTO. Ishimoto had held the acting role since the elevation in July of Richard Rogers from state CTO to state deputy chief information officer (CIO) and chief deputy director of CDT.
The CTO role — a position appointed by the governor — remains vacant.
State CIO Amy Tong praised MacDonald and said Friday that his appointment comes at a good time for CDT’s Office of Technology Services (OTech).
“Scott steps in to the deputy state CTO position at a time when the delivery of state technology is more important than ever,” Tong told Techwire through a spokesperson. “His experience and commendable tenure at CDT ensure OTech will continue to run smoothly and efficiently.”
Rogers, whose portfolio as state CTO included oversight of state data center operations and the state’s ongoing move to the cloud, also had praise for MacDonald.
“Scott is the clear choice to assume the deputy CTO position,” Rogers told Techwire in a statement. “He has proved himself more than competent and deserving time and again.”
MacDonald, who joined CDT in October 2014, has served as the deputy of Infrastructure Services for the past four years. He began his state career in 2001 with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, where he served in various positions, including as its agency information security officer, for more than six years.
He is an alum of the University of San Francisco, where he studied information systems.
