Conley leaving Colorado for private sector
John Conley will step down next month as the executive director of the Colorado Statewide Internet Portal Authority to pursue opportunities in the private sector.
Conley, a former deputy chief information officer for Colorado, has led SIPA for the past five years, most recently leading the state’s move to the Drupal development platform for all government websites.
“The opportunity to work for SIPA these past five years has been tremendous and I am thankful for all the experiences,” Conley said. “The best part of the job was always serving state and local governments and helping them find innovative solutions to serve the residents, businesses, and visitors of Colorado.”
SIPA is a self-funded government organization that serves as the oversight body of the Colorado’s web portal, which serves as the gateway for the Colorado government to deliver e-government services.
When Conley joined SIPA in 2009, it had 17 customers and supported approximately 24 websites. Under his leadership, SIPA has grown to provide services to more than 270 governments across Colorado, be the largest government email provider and support more than 200 websites, and it has partnered with the private sector to enable services including mapping solutions, payment processing, electronic signatures and digital transaction management solutions.
“John’s leadership and ability to form partnerships have allowed SIPA to enjoy considerable growth the past five years and we are thankful for his time with SIPA,” said Jack Arrowsmith, chairman of the SIPA Board. “John has always been an advocate for governments and his commitment to excellence is unsurpassed and we wish him well as he takes on new opportunities.”
Through partnerships with Google, Mobile Pulse, Colorado Interactive, Salesforce, Docusign and other companies, SIPA is seen as a technology license and service provider to governments throughout Colorado. Leveraging its economy of scale to negotiate agreements, SIPA saves its customers $6 million annually through cost avoidance, Conley said.
Conley is the latest high-profile technology executive to leave Colorado in recent months. In December, Chief Technology Officer Sherri Hammonds left for the public sector, and last month, Chief Information Officer Kristin Russell left for an executive position with Deloitte.
