California CIO Liana Bailey-Crimmins announces retirement

California State Chief Information Officer Liana Bailey-Crimmins announced on Friday she will retire after a 38-year career in public service, stepping down from her role leading the California Department of Technology.

Appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022, Bailey-Crimmins led statewide efforts to modernize infrastructure and expand digital services. Her departure marks a transition point for one of the largest state IT organizations in the country. The state has not announced a replacement.

She announced her decision in a recent social media post, calling it a “difficult” choice, made with her family, after decades in government.

“After 38 years of public service, together with my family, I have made the difficult decision to retire. I am so grateful for the partnerships and collaboration not only during my tenure as CIO but throughout my career,” she wrote in a LinkedIn post . “From the tape room to the boardroom to the advent of Generative AI in government services, it has been the privilege of my life to be a steward of good for the people of California.”

Before becoming CIO, Bailey-Crimmins served as the department’s chief technology officer and held leadership roles across California’s state government, including at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and California Correctional Health Care Services.

During her nearly four-year tenure as CIO, Bailey-Crimmins helped steer the state’s technology department through a period of rapid change, including the state’s technology response to the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. Under her leadership, the department created a digital portal to connect survivors with services across the levels of government, reflecting her emphasis on public services.

She led the technology department as the state grappled with how to regulate, adopt and deploy artificial intelligence tools. The California Department of Technology last September began pilot-testing an AI-powered digital assistant for state employees, called Poppy, to help improve data-sharing and collaboration across agencies. Poppy claims more than 2,600 users across 66 departments.

In her retirement announcement, Bailey-Crimmins said she had long framed the role of state IT as an enabler rather than a gatekeeper, focusing on improving how residents access benefits and interact with government.

“When I stepped into the role of State Chief Information Officer and Director of the California Department of Technology nearly four years ago, I did so with a single driving conviction: Government technology must be resilient, reliable, and trustworthy for the people it serves,” she wrote. “… The expectations and demands of our constituents and of technology have changed, and I am proud to have matched that change from within government.”