California appoints new chief data officer
California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week named Jason Lally, San Francisco’s former chief data officer, as the state’s new CDO.
The chief data officer role sits in the state’s Office of Data and Innovation, part of the Government Operations Agency, where Lally has served as deputy director of data services and engineering since 2022.
“I am very honored to have been entrusted as California’s Chief Data Officer by Governor Newsom. There’s much ahead of us, but I am one of the luckiest to have such amazing people at ODI and the State who inspire me every day,” Lally wrote on LinkedIn.
In his new role, Lally will help manage California’s data with the aim of enhancing the state’s services. He reports to ODI Director Jeffery Marino, whom Newsom appointed in January.
“This is a critical role for the State of California and Jason is the right person at the right time. California is incredibly data-rich and we need to unlock that potential to improve services in an equitable manner,” Marino wrote in a LinkedIn post. “Not only is Jason an expert in all things data and analytics, he is also a passionate public servant who embodies the spirit of equity, collaboration, and innovation that Californians deserve in their data and technology leaders.”
As San Francisco’s data chief, Lally advanced the city’s open data and data dashboard projects during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to his LinkedIn profile.
