“Amy brings a leadership style that prioritizes both stability and innovation, keeping systems running but with an eye towards the future needs of California,” said a statement provided to Techwire by Yolanda Richardson, secretary of the state Government Operations Agency, parent agency of CDT. “She will be a key player in all IT developments in state government as we move away from legacy systems and into an era where Californians depend on technology more than ever before.”
For her part, Tong said she was “humbled” by the announcement — first reported in Techwire — that Newsom had reappointed her to the position she’s held since 2016.
“It is an amazing opportunity to help implement the Governor’s vision to digitally transform and improve government,” Tong said in a statement. “I am honored to lead the state technology community in public/private partnerships to help California residents receive better access to public services. Together, we will carry out the administration's goals to provide innovative IT solutions, strengthen security of the state’s information assets, and advocate to close the digital divide.”
Tong reached the top spot in California’s IT governance after a steady rise through the state hierarchy, having served in various IT leadership roles with the State Water Resources Control Board, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the State Board of Equalization, the California Lottery, and the Office of Systems Integration and its parent entity, the California Health and Human Services Agency.
A predecessor of Tong's, former California state CIO Teri Takai, also endorsed Newsom's decision. Takai is now co-director of the Center for Digital Government, which comes under the auspices of eRepublic, Techwire's parent.
"I am pleased that Governor Newsom has reappointed Amy Tong as the state CIO and CDT director,” Takai told Techwire on Monday. “Under Amy’s leadership, the CIO’s office continues to make major strides in cloud adoption, agile processes, procurement reform and addressing the technology workforce needs of the state."
The former deputy state CIO and chief deputy director of CDT, Chris Cruz, said he was pleased with the direction of CDT under Tong’s leadership. Cruz, now CIO of San Joaquin County, played a key role in many CDT initiatives in the last several years before taking the San Joaquin County position just over a year ago.
“I would say that CDT has done an excellent job with advancing Digital Services and Innovation, cybersecurity and cloud services under Amy’s direction,” Cruz told Techwire in an email Monday.
Cruz said Tong’s endorsement is an indication that the state CIO has the support of the governor’s office to make permanent some key leadership changes she’s put in place since Cruz’s departure: Richard Rogers is acting deputy state CIO and acting chief deputy director of CDT. And Vitaliy Panych has succeeded Peter Liebert, who left the role of state chief information security officer (CISO) last May and who’s gone into security consulting.
Cruz sees Tong’s reappointment as Newsom’s vote of confidence in her leadership and her decisions.
“I would assume that she would follow suit and recommend to the Governor’s Office that both Richard and Vitaliy take on permanent roles in their current positions,” Cruz said.
