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Nevada CIO Michael Dietrich Heads Back to the Private Sector

Dietrich, chief information officer of Nevada, is stepping down after 18 months in the role. The IT leader is making the move back to the private sector with a position at the Greater Nevada Credit Union.

After only 18 months as Nevada’s head of IT services, Michael Dietrich will step down as chief information officer.

Dietrich’s final day with the state of Nevada will be Sept. 30. Dietrich will be returning to the private sector, where he will serve as chief administrative officer for the Greater Nevada Credit Union, where he will lead the business analytics, digital services, information technology and human resources areas of the organization.

“Moving on from state service was one of the hardest decisions of my life!” Dietrich wrote in a Friday email to Government Technology. “We have accomplished so much at the state, and I expect the groundwork laid to enable more great progress.”

Dietrich was named CIO in April 2018, after serving as a senior manager at LinkedIn. In January of this year, following the election of Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, Dietrich remained in the top IT position in the new administration. Prior to Dietrich, Shanna Rahming had served as Nevada CIO for three years.

As CIO, Dietrich put forward his “Road to Unity,” or R2U plan, a multi-step approach to consolidating siloed technologies and building efficiencies through “enterprise solutions.”

Today, Dietrich points to improved collaboration among the state’s various “IT shops” as some of the changes he’s helped shepherd during his tenure. Also, under Dietrich’s leadership, Nevada was able to develop “the first true strategic roadmap” for the state’s IT services in 20 years.  

“While the first phase of this roadmap starts with the basics of communication, collaboration and working better together… it is critical that we align this way for the good of the state going forward,” said Dietrich.

“Those within the department are fully invested in this new direction and I expect that the individuals key to this evolution will carry the momentum into the next biennium and beyond,” he added.

State purchasing and finance departments also received more modern technologies, making the process more efficient and collaborative, he said. Nevada also worked to improve its digital services with the public by becoming more accessible to residents with disabilities.

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.