IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Arizona CIO Morgan Reed Departs for Private Sector

Reed, who has served as Arizona chief information officer since 2015, has taken a spot in the private sector — though officials could not comment on the company he had joined or the role he would play there.

Morgan Reed, who worked to modernize and simplify IT across numerous agencies in Arizona, has stepped down as the state's chief information officer for a position in the private sector.

Gov. Doug Ducey's office confirmed the departure Monday. His final day was July 26, 2019. 

“As CIO for the state for the last nearly four years, Morgan shepherded efforts to implement more efficient IT solutions across government,” said Patrick Ptak, a communications spokesman for Ducey. “His leadership has helped improve operations at many state agencies and bring about real benefits for the people of Arizona. We're grateful for his service and contributions to the state.”

Officials were not able to comment on which company Reed had joined or the role he had taken.

Reed was named Arizona CIO in 2015, after serving as an executive with the travel-booking website Expedia. He has also served in a number of roles with Web-hosting company GoDaddy, as well as Wells Fargo and Intel.

While in Arizona, Reed worked to streamline operations by migrating some 80 agencies to Google’s G Suite, a collection of cloud-computing tools, which include platforms like Google Calendar and Gmail. The move modernized operations away from old, siloed legacy platforms to one singular dynamic system.

Reed also pushed the state — with its 35,000 workers — toward implementing "single sign-on," which streamlines access to a host of state agencies and processes ranging from renewing a vehicle license to filing tax payments.

Reed's departure is not the only recent upper-level staff change at the Arizona Department of Administration and Technology. Chief information security officer Mike Lettman departed at the end of 2018 and was recently replaced by Tim Roemer, who previously served as deputy director of legislative affairs for the Ducey administration.

Skip Descant writes about smart cities, the Internet of Things, transportation and other areas. He spent more than 12 years reporting for daily newspapers in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and California. He lives in downtown Yreka, Calif.