Stevens, who has served as CIO for nearly five years, told Government Technology he gave notice on Thursday, Aug. 10, and his last day of work will be Oct. 2. However, he will work with Maricopa County to facilitate a transition, he said.
Previously, he had served in county government since 2001, in positions including CIO of the county’s judicial branch, and deputy county CIO before ascending to CIO in Oct. 2012.
He is leaving for the private sector, Stevens told GT, to take a position as executive vice president of corporate relations at Valor Global, which offers call center, managed information technology, infrastructure and data center services to companies including Sprint.
The firm is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., with offices in Germany, Costa Rica and the Philippines, where it nevertheless expanded in 2014 despite cancelling planned acquisitions there.
In a news release, Stevens said he will “focus on Valor’s rapid national growth in the public sector market.”
“I think it will be a great fit for them and for us and a great opportunity to come alongside a lot of public sector companies,” Stevens told GT, citing Valor Global’s “pretty strong track record here, locally reducing operations costs,” improving call times and forging equal or better service-level agreements.
Valor Global CEO Simer Mayo said in a statement the company continues to experience rapid public sector growth, and Stevens’ knowledge of the market will help it “focus on creating best-of-breed public-private partnerships.”
“David’s extensive experience in public sector business and as a nationally recognized leader in technology is a major asset to Valor Global,” Mayo said.
“His experience and knowledge of incorporating ITIL and LEAN in IT and Call Center delivery will allow us to continue to serve national, federal, state, county, education and city governments while expanding our current product capabilities to our customers,” Mayo added.
Maricopa County is in the first year of a three-year strategic plan built upon a technology foundation improved to meet the growing demands of business, as part of a long-term tech strategy aimed at enabling development of innovative products and services and engaging customers “on their terms — anywhere, anytime, with any device.”
Going forward, the county is working to enhance cybersecurity with increased investment, develop new solutions to further customer experiences, and promote its Digital Government initiative to improve online citizen, customer and business engagement.
A special edition of the county’s Office of Enterprise Technology Business Value Report that Stevens provided highlighted achievements during his tenure as the county has modernized its technology infrastructure.
The report, which examined the 2014-2016 fiscal years, documented savings including:
- $4.3 million in savings over five years by implementing a 3PAR enterprise storage solution.
- More than $4 million over three years by renegotiating a Microsoft Enterprise License Agreement.
- More than $2 million savings in replacing the treasurer’s information system by creating a virtual server environment.
- More than $1.8 million savings by reducing maintenance costs through a network modernization.
“Just a culture of success. People not afraid to win and to collaborate. Really, to be bought into the shared business outcomes that we’re trying to achieve and building that kind of culture, just takes time and trust,” he said.
Officials at Maricopa County did not respond to requests for comment. However, the departing CIO said he will remain closely involved as the agency shapes its search to replace him.
“They’re working on what kind of recruitment process they want to do. I think the county executive is still sorting that out, and thankfully I think I’ll be able to help them in that transition in some way, shape or form,” he said.
