CIO Profiles: Teri Takai, CIO For The State Of CaliforniaCIO Profiles: Teri Takai, CIO For The State Of California

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Career Track

How long at current job: 2 years (Takai has been mentioned as a potential candidate to be CIO of the Defense Department.)

Decision I wish I could do over: I wish I'd learned earlier the importance of professional networking and negotiation skills.

Vision

The next big thing for my industry: Finding the balance between owning technology and purchasing services.On The Job

IT budget: Around $4 billion

Size of IT team: Including employees in departments and agencies, about 10,000; my office employs more than 1,000.

Top initiatives: Consolidation of IT infrastructure, pursuing our green IT agenda, and delivering services and information to the people of California online.

How I measure IT effectiveness: In the public sector, it's based on providing value to the state's residents and businesses.

Personal

Colleges/degrees: University of Michigan, BA in mathematics and MA in management

Leisure activity:Spending time with family and friends

Best book read recently: Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell

Biggest business-related pet peeve: Whining and people who have to ask permission before they do anything.

Last vacation: Vancouver, Calgary, Banff

If I weren't a CIO, I'd be ... a librarian