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Arizona's New Interim CIO Fulfills Top 3 State IT Roles

Arizona's new interim chief information officer, J.R. Sloan, will continue in his duties as the state's chief technology officer and deputy CIO as officials evaluate the best method for finding a permanent replacement.

As Arizona officials explore options for a permanent CIO, J.R. Sloan holds the position in the meantime. Sloan also continues to serve as the state’s chief technology officer and deputy CIO after his appointment to interim CIO in August following the departure of Morgan Reed.

Sloan joined the state in 2013 after working more than 20 years in operational and executive-level roles in the technology industry, according to the Arizona Department of Administration’s (ADOA) website. A spokesperson for ADOA said Sloan will also continue his position as chairman of the Information Technology Authorization Committee, which approves and monitors high-cost IT projects.

Big ticket items under Sloan’s purview include implementing the Cloud First policy, which aims to drive cloud adoption at ADOA and other state agencies; the statewide implementation of Google G-Suite for email, calendar and collaboration; and the Statewide Data Management and Governance initiative, which includes a data-sharing memorandum of understanding and data stewardship training program, ADOA spokeswoman Megan Rose said in an email to Government Technology.

Rose said the department is “currently evaluating the path forward” to select a new state CIO.

Prior to assuming the duties of CIO, Sloan facilitated a multi-vendor contract for Web applications and online services that saved the agency about $1 million annually, decreased the processing times from 30 days to two days, and led development standardization and security for more than 130 department websites, which increased online services by an estimated 250 percent, according to the website.

His goals during the next year include the rollout of an app for government services, the deployment of machine learning tactics to increase efficiency statewide and piloting blockchain technology.

Morgan Reed stepped down as the state’s CIO to pursue a position in the private sector after four years in the leadership position.

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Patrick Groves was a staff writer for Government Technology from 2019 to 2020.