Longtime Jackson County, Ore., CIO/CISO Steps Down

Jackson County, Ore., is seeking a chief information officer/technology director, after its current CIO and Chief Information Security Officer Mark Decker has announced his intention to step down.

Decker confirmed Wednesday via email he is leaving the role for what he called a “preview retirement,” so that he and his wife can travel and live abroad. He will be stepping down as CIO and technology director as soon as a successor is hired, which he said he hopes will be by July of this year.

To assist with the transition, Decker will remain with the county part-time as adviser and CISO until Sept. 6. The county’s plans for its CISO role after September are still being determined, Decker said, but likely will be handled in the short term via outsourced consulting.

His successor, Decker said, will have an “ambitious project docket” to keep them busy for the next 12 to 24 months, as they acclimate to their new role. County IT initiatives include an upcoming cloud migration, Teams and SharePoint adoptions, and the implementation of a new unified communication system.

As Decker reflected on his service to the county for nearly two decades, he discussed lessons learned and the aspects he’s most thankful for during his tenure. Decker has been with Jackson County for 17 years, according to LinkedIn.

“I’m proud of the exceptional value my team has delivered to our taxpayers,” he said. “Even with a limited budget, we’ve maintained high customer satisfaction and built a strong cybersecurity culture.”

Decker said the significance of their mission was underscored in 2020, when county IT was crucial in helping the Jackson County community weather not only the COVID-19 pandemic but also a catastrophic wildfire.

“When disaster strikes, people need government, and government needs IT,” he said.

In his multifaceted role, Decker managed a budget exceeding $7 million, and oversaw all IT operations and projects, while ensuring data security and integrity across county business functions.

Decker’s previous positions, before joining Jackson County in June 2007, included more than three years as a senior technology consultant for Dun and Bradstreet, and almost a year as a product manager for Rainfinity.

With his many years spent analyzing and managing technology, Decker said his interest in the evolution of public-sector innovation is unlikely to go away any time soon.

“I’m sure I’ll be back in government technology in a CIO or CISO role at some point,” he said. “Tech is too much fun, and public service is too important to stay gone for long.”