#243: CalSTRS & California DMV - Your Risk Is My Risk

Recorded on-site at CalSTRS in West Sacramento, this episode brings together Ashish Jain (Chief Technology Officer, CalSTRS), Prashant Mittal (Chief Information Officer, California Department of Motor Vehicles), and Hillory Courtney (Managing Partner, Info-Tech Research Group). Ashish and Prashant go back to 1999. Prashant once reported to Ashish, and Ashish attended Prashant's wedding in India, although Prashant jokingly questions if that really happened. Together with Hillory, the three share about how trust shapes every call they make, from DMV changing course on its modernization, to CalSTRS keeping AI out of decisions, to how Info-Tech helped them both turn ideas into action. Guests: Ashish Jain, Chief Technology Officer, CalSTRS Prashant Mittal, Chief Information Officer, California Department of Motor Vehicles Hillory Courtney, Managing Partner, Info-Tech Research Group Timestamps: 0:00 Back at CalSTRS: the trust Prashant says bonded IT and business 2:25 Friends since 1999, and why that trust mattered when Prashant joined CalSTRS 9:09 "Your issues and your risk are my issue and my risk" 16:01 Wait for the business to ask, or act first? Prashant's five-minute pitch 26:03 Six weeks, 200-plus new hires, and the moment Prashant changed course 30:00 "I can't buy a tool and drop it on the table" 33:00 "AI is not making a decision for us" 51:20 Trust took years to build: why CalSTRS won't go all-AI with members 55:17 Different missions, 60 to 70% of the same problems: why agencies compare notes 57:09 "The idea is great, but now you have to operationalize it"