#238: 40 CIOs. 40 Different Missions. How LA County's CIO Holds IT Together — with Info-Tech Research Group
The Public Sector Show by TechTablesShow Notes
Los Angeles County is the largest county in the U.S. serving over 10 million people across 40+ different departments. They just passed a $46 billion budget. And their CIO, Peter Loo, has to coordinate with 40 other CIOs to get anything done. That’s not a technology problem. That’s one of the hardest leadership and governance challenges in all of public sector — and Peter has been doing it for over 30 years because, as he put it, “You can see the impact you make directly in the services being delivered.” That stayed with me. I coach high school basketball for the same reason. I sat down with Peter and Hannes Scheidegger, Chief Global Services Officer at Info-Tech Research Group, on-site at the 36th floor of The Gas Company Tower in downtown Los Angeles. Peter and Hannes have been working together since around 2010 — across an EHR implementation at five hospitals, a data center consolidation from 42 facilities down to one T5, a countywide voting system, and more. This is one of the longest, most tested partnerships I’ve seen in public sector. And the lessons transfer far beyond LA. Guests Peter Loo, Chief Information Officer, Los Angeles County, CA Hannes Scheidegger, Chief Global Services Officer, Info-Tech Research Group Timestamps (0:00) Peter Loo introduces LA County — 40 departments, 40 CIOs, and a $46 billion budget (2:00) The EHR origin story — five hospitals, one system, five different implementations (4:00) What made it succeed — executive commitment, empowered steering committees, and a “not if but how” mindset (8:00) AI governance lessons — why principles beat prescriptive guidelines, and how LA County worked with GovAI Coalition (12:00) How Info-Tech engages — blueprints, guided implementations, workshops, and full consulting (16:00) The data center consolidation — 42 data centers, some were closets, some next to refrigerators (18:00) How to communicate with executives — the language of value, risk, and constituent services (22:00) The most contentious meeting of Hannes’ career — CIOs in one room who thought they’d agreed. They hadn’t. (28:30) “We want you to do what you did for DHS” — the moment that defined the partnership (33:00) Closing advice — commit to the mission, be patient and persistent, always do it as a “we”
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For the past decade, Ramsey County’s CIO, Chetan Ganatra, has been trying to prove that government doesn’t have to be slow and risk-averse, first at the state and now at the county. It started with a 2017 Star Tribune series on abuse complaints in senior care and his parents living alone in India. When he arrived at the county four and a half years ago, at least 7 to 10 escalations hit his inbox every day. The systems are about the same today. The inbox isn’t. I talked with Chetan about all of it. And yes, we also get into the first team, why the state felt like a vaccine lab, what he gets out of the GOVIT Leadership Summit & Symposium, and more! Timestamps 0:00 Government doesn't have to be slow 5:20 Why Chetan joined government 9:30 State lab vs. county front line 12:15 Breaking down IT silos 13:30 Minnesotans and hard conversations 15:20 Service teams, not tech teams 16:20 Measuring the culture shift 20:20 Accountability isn’t a dirty word 21:10 Air cover and psychological safety 22:50 Numbers only tell part of the story 24:30 Why go to GOVIT? Connect with the Guests 💼 Chetan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ganatrachetan/ Connect with Me 📬 Newsletter: https://techtables.com/ 🎙️ Podcast: https://www.techtables.com/episodes/ 😃 Guests: https://www.techtables.com/guests/ 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtoste/
Recorded on-site at EDUCAUSE 2026 in Denver, inside the Info-Tech Research Group booth, this episode brings together John O'Brien (President & CEO, EDUCAUSE) and Mark Roman (Managing Partner, Education, Info-Tech Research Group). John has led EDUCAUSE since 2015, and Mark was a CIO for a long time before working with colleges and universities around the world. John and Mark dig into where people still matter when the answers come from machines. John raises a question that could reshape higher ed: if human connection becomes the premium experience, who gets access to it, and who is left with only automated alternatives? Mark makes the case that a CIO who sees across the whole institution could rise to COO, and the conversation lands on the messy middle of learning that AI lets students skip. Timestamps (00:00) Intro to John O'Brien and Mark Roman (02:55) College Isn't About the Knowledge (05:50) Moving Up Bloom's Taxonomy (10:40) Earning a Seat at the Table (11:40) Skipping the Messy Middle (14:20) The Future of the CIO (17:05) The AI Slop Divide (18:50) What John Is Proudest Of (21:00) From Young Professional to Board Chair (25:30) An Appeal to Kindness (25:45) Promoted, Still Doing the Old Job (26:35) Start With Values Connect with the Guests 💼 John's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnobrienphd/ 💼 Mark's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markromanlinkedin/ Connect with Me 🌐 Full episode & transcript: https://podcast.techtables.com/educause-john-obrien-ai-slop/ 📬 Newsletter: https://techtables.com/ 🎙️ Podcast: https://podcast.techtables.com/ 🤝 Community: https://techtables.com/communities-local-government 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtoste/
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Recorded on-site at CalSTRS in West Sacramento, this episode brings together Ashish Jain (Chief Technology Officer, CalSTRS), Prashant Mittal (Chief Information Officer, California Department of Motor Vehicles), and Hillory Courtney (Managing Partner, Info-Tech Research Group). Ashish and Prashant go back to 1999. Prashant once reported to Ashish, and Ashish attended Prashant's wedding in India, although Prashant jokingly questions if that really happened. Together with Hillory, the three share about how trust shapes every call they make, from DMV changing course on its modernization, to CalSTRS keeping AI out of decisions, to how Info-Tech helped them both turn ideas into action. Guests: Ashish Jain, Chief Technology Officer, CalSTRS Prashant Mittal, Chief Information Officer, California Department of Motor Vehicles Hillory Courtney, Managing Partner, Info-Tech Research Group Timestamps: 0:00 Back at CalSTRS: the trust Prashant says bonded IT and business 2:25 Friends since 1999, and why that trust mattered when Prashant joined CalSTRS 9:09 "Your issues and your risk are my issue and my risk" 16:01 Wait for the business to ask, or act first? Prashant's five-minute pitch 26:03 Six weeks, 200-plus new hires, and the moment Prashant changed course 30:00 "I can't buy a tool and drop it on the table" 33:00 "AI is not making a decision for us" 51:20 Trust took years to build: why CalSTRS won't go all-AI with members 55:17 Different missions, 60 to 70% of the same problems: why agencies compare notes 57:09 "The idea is great, but now you have to operationalize it"