#218: How 3 State CIOs Cut Through AI Hype to Save Millions with Bill Kehoe, Tim Galluzi, Alan Fuller

#218: How 3 State CIOs Cut Through AI Hype to Save Millions with Bill Kehoe, Tim Galluzi, Alan Fuller

Featuring

Bill Kehoe, Chief Information Officer and WaTech Agency Director, State of Washington

Tim Galluzi, Chief Information Officer, State of Nevada

Alan Fuller, Chief Information Officer, State of Utah

Episode Highlights

What if the future of government IT isn’t about the biggest budget—but the courage to ship fast, fail forward, and use AI that actually works?

Three state CIOs share how they’re turning bold ideas into measurable wins:

• Nevada detects wildfires faster and launches aircraft sooner with AI.

• Utah rolled out Gemini statewide—deflecting 70% of help-desk calls.

• Washington uses AI to translate legacy COBOL into plain English, cutting months of manual work.

You’ll also hear Tim Galluzi’s Marine Corps lesson that “speed beats perfection,” Alan Fuller’s vision for cryptographically verifiable credentials (yes, even beekeeping licenses), and Bill Kehoe’s “Coffee with Kehoe” approach that guided teams through a $16B deficit with transparency.

When CIOs put people before platforms, they build systems that truly serve citizens.

Timestamps

(01:00) Coffee with Kehoe: Leading Teams Through $16B Deficit with Transparency

(03:31) Marine Corps to State IT: “Speed Beats Perfection” Leadership Philosophy

(11:00) Utah’s Reality Check: From “Can’t Run Zoom” to Strategic Innovation Partner

(15:00) Data Foundation First: From Spreadsheet Chaos to Customer Experience Insights

(19:36) 3 States, 3 AI Wins: COBOL to English, 70% Deflection, $1M Saved

(30:30) Wildfire AI: Nevada Saving Lives with Early Detection

(36:00) “We Aren’t the Alpha Big Dog”: Learning from the Smallest Counties

(39:00) Digital Identity Revolution: Every Credential Cryptographically Verifiable

(42:00) One Portal, One Identity: Making Government Simple for Citizens

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