#238: 40 CIOs. 40 Different Missions. How LA County's CIO Holds IT Together — with Info-Tech Research Group Summary Los Angeles County is the largest county in the U.S. serving over 10 million people across 40+ different departments. They just passed a $46 billion budget. And their CIO, Peter Loo, has to coordinate with 40 other CIOs to get anything done. That’s not a technology problem. That’s one of the hardest leadership and governance challenges in all of public sector — and Peter has been doing it for over 30 years because, as he put it, “You can see the impact you make directly in the services being delivered.” That stayed with me. I coach high school basketball for the same reason. I sat down with Peter and Hannes Scheidegger, Chief Global Services Officer at Info-Tech Research Group, on-site at the 36th floor of The Gas Company Tower in downtown Los Angeles. Peter and Hannes have been working together since around 2010 — across an EHR implementation at five hospitals, a data center consolidation from 42 facilities down to one T5, a countywide voting system, and more. This is one of the longest, most tested partnerships I’ve seen in public sector. And the lessons transfer far beyond LA. Welcome to episode 238! Guests Peter Loo, Chief Information Officer, Los Angeles County, CA Hannes Scheidegger, Chief Global Services Officer, Info-Tech Research Group Timestamps (0:00) Peter Loo introduces LA County — 40 departments, 40 CIOs, and a $46 billion budget (2:00) The EHR origin story — five hospitals, one system, five different implementations (4:00) What made it succeed — executive commitment, empowered steering committees, and a “not if but how” mindset (8:00) AI governance lessons — why principles beat prescriptive guidelines, and how LA County worked with GovAI Coalition (12:00) How Info-Tech engages — blueprints, guided implementations, workshops, and full consulting (16:00) The data center consolidation — 42 data centers, some were closets, some next to refrigerators (18:00) How to communicate with executives — the language of value, risk, and constituent services (22:00) The most contentious meeting of Hannes’ career — CIOs in one room who thought they’d agreed. They hadn’t. (28:30) “We want you to do what you did for DHS” — the moment that defined the partnership (33:00) Closing advice — commit to the mission, be patient and persistent, always do it as a “we” Listen now: YouTube x Apple x Spotify Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways you can connect with TechTables: 1. 📬 The TechTables Newsletter Thanks for reading TechTables! Get early access to new episodes, insights, upcoming events, and more — straight to your inbox. Join now: https://www.techtables.com/ 2. 🤝 Are you a local government CIO who wants to become a better leader? Check out our high-trust, vendor-free peer group built for local government CIOs tackling real challenges, honest conversations, and an authentic desire to become a better leader — our next retreat is November 2026 in Austin, TX Learn more → https://techtables.com/communities-local-government 3. 🤝 The Better Together Virtual Series The narrative-driven series bringing together industry partners and public sector CXOs. Discover the compelling stories that unfold when we stop working in silos and start building together. »»» Email joe@techtables.com to learn more. Platinum Newsletter Sponsor: Info-Tech Research Group This newsletter is presented by Info-Tech Research Group, the fastest growing research & advisory firm that senior technology leaders in the public sector actually call when it matters. —> Click here to see all ITRG episodes Gold Newsletter Sponsor: SentinelOne - Learn how SentinelOne empowers this state to stay secure. Verizon Frontline - The advanced network that keeps first responders connected when it matters most. NinjaOne (new sponsor!) — Learn how NinjaOne Unifies IT and Gets A Super Upgrade with this public sector agency. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit techtables.substack.com
