Fred Gomez, who’s worked in IT for the state for 11 years, has been named the new Chief Information Officer for the California Public Utilities Commission. Today is his first day on the job.
CPUC Executive Director Alice Stebbins made the following staff announcement: “CPUC has a new Chief Information Officer at the Career Executive Assignment (CEA) level — Fred Gomez. Fred comes to us from Caltrans and has terrific experience in both the private and public sector. … Fred will begin officially on Friday, August 17th and be headquartered in Sacramento. Like myself, Fred will be in San Francisco a lot and will also frequent our Los Angeles office. …”
Reza Yazdi had been CIO until the position was upgraded to a Career Executive Assignment (C.E.A.) level role, at which point Yazdi and others interviewed for the position. Yazdi will remain in a civil service position, assisting with technology issues, Stebbins told the staff.
Her announcement continued: “Fred brings with him 11 years of state service, which began while working as a consultant for the Office of Systems Integration (OSI), as an infrastructure Technology Manager over the Interim Statewide Automated Welfare System (ISAWS). In 2009 he joined the state as a full-time employee with the Employment Development Department (EDD), working as a lead infrastructure software specialist on the Disability Insurance Automation (DIA) and Continued Claims (CCR) projects, and in less than two years he was promoted to the role of supervisor in the Infrastructure Division.
“In 2014 he joined the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) as the Chief over the Server & Storage Management Section. In this role Fred was responsible for managing over 1,500 servers for all programs Caltrans-wide. Additionally, his team was first line of support for mission-critical applications, databases, and storage. Fred introduced innovative technology platforms, creating collaborative relationships with internal business programs which enhanced Caltrans’ partnerships, credibility and project portfolio. Among many of the successful projects that Fred led at Caltrans, the implementation of the $12 million Infrastructure Hardware Refresh Project was his most noted project to date.
“Prior to his state service career, Fred worked in the private sector, holding various IT positions of increasing responsibility from Desktop and Customer Support to IT Operations Manager, accumulating over 18 years of IT knowledge, skills and experience. …”
Gomez is a graduate of the California Department of Technology’s IT Leadership Academy (ITLA) and received an Outstanding Leadership award from the Public Sector CIO Academy in 2017. Gomez studied aeronautics at Arizona State University and served in the U.S. Air Force and Reserves for a total of 11 years.
Fred Gomez's brother, Barney, was recently named Vice Chancellor for IT in the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office.
State Public Utilities Commission Names New CIO
The California Public Utilities Commission has named an IT veteran to the CIO position, which was recently bumped up to a Career Executive Assignment appointment.
