California State Teachers Retirement System names chief technology officer

The California State Teachers Retirement System has named a new chief technology officer.

Ashish Jain, previously the deputy chief information officer for the California Correctional Health Care Service, was named to the position at CalSTRS effective on Monday.

“I believe business needs should drive technology in any effective organization and the proper adoption of technology can greatly improve business efficiency and productivity,” Mr. Jain said. “This is an exciting time to lead CalSTRS’ technology group and I look forward to working with CalSTRS’ business groups to strengthen the role technology can play in achieving business successes throughout the system.”

Jain has more than 16 years of experience in senior IT leadership positions, in both the private and public sectors. He has more than eight years of experience in California state government, holding technical leadership positions at both the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the Department of General Services.

At the California Correctional Health Care Service he was responsible for oversight of the agency’s information technology architecture, applications, governance, policies and strategic planning.

“The caliber of Mr. Jain’s education, technology skills and technical leadership experience is impressive,” said CalSTRS Chief Executive Officer Jack Ehnes. “His arrival comes at an opportune time, given the critical importance of technology to the future of CalSTRS. His leadership and experience in the private and public sectors will add fresh insight as CalSTRS begins the process of updating our information technology infrastructure to improve business processes and operational efficiency.”

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, with a portfolio valued at $170 billion as of July 31 is the largest educator-only pension fund in the world. CalSTRS administers a hybrid retirement system, consisting of traditional defined benefit, cash balance and voluntary defined contribution plans. CalSTRS also provides disability and survivor benefits.

For 100 years, CalSTRS has served California’s public school educators and their families, who today number 862,000 from the state’s 1,600 school districts, county offices of education and community college districts.