Davood Ghods, Fred Klass: California's IT Visionaries 2009

Davood Ghods (pictured) receives the Visionary Award from California CIO Teri Takai

Davood Ghods, agency information officer for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and Fred Klass chief operating officer of the Department of Finance,received California's 2009 Awards for Vision and Innovation in Government.

Davood Ghods

California Chief Information Officer Teri Takai presented the award to Ghods, noting that he has guided his department through a period in which IT functions of several independent branches were consolidated and streamlined.

Ghods' work has given the department the means to identify and track its various IT projects, even as they are managed using a variety of tools and methodologies. He led the effort to align CDFA's IT Governance Process with industry best practices and now CDFA is recognized both locally and nationally as a leader in California state government for IT governance and project and portfolio management.

Fred Klass

Fred Klass (pictured) -- COO for the California Department of Finance -- has worked for 20 years developing and administering budgets for state programs in a wide variety of areas including natural resources, environmental protection, energy, capital outlay, courts, higher education, local mandates, and information technology.

Klass is responsible for coordinating the efforts of the Department's various units and ensuring the efficient functioning of the organization.