#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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🎥 Upcoming Live Podcast Tours

1. 2026 IGNITE Powered by Info-Tech LIVE - Austin, TX - Sept. 17th-18th

If you’re an IT leader in Austin, Houston, or nearby, Info-Tech’s got complimentary tickets with your name on them (just DM me I’ll be there). IGNITE is getting past the AI hype and into the real questions CIOs are wrestling with: how to get your people actually using AI, what the shift from “employee in the loop” to “employee on the loop” looks like, and how to budget when the costs keep moving up.

→ Ready to join the conversation in person? Email joe@techtables.com

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1. 📬 The TechTables Newsletter

Thanks for reading TechTables! Get early access to new episodes, insights, upcoming events, and more — straight to your inbox.

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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 4th-6th in Austin, TX!

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