George Rios

George Rios is a technology strategist and an executive coach who has experience partnering with business and technology leaders to advise, guide, and provide insight to advance organizations to their desired business outcomes. With over 30 years of experience in the Information Technology (IT) industry, George has gained an insightful perspective on the business value of technology, of top organizational challenges, of the impact of digital transformation, of the need for fostering interpersonal relationships, and of building leaders and teams focused on embracing change with solid collaboration between the business sector and technology organizations.

George served as the Director of Information Technology for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) for 18 years and retired from the agency after 27 years of service. During his tenure, he provided senior leadership, direction, and oversight, in all aspects of information technology. As the agency’s Chief Information Officer (CIO), George set a technological approach that aligned with the agency’s mission, goals, and programs. He emphasized increased collaboration across business areas and strengthened processes for how technology was implemented and how service delivery was viewed within the agency to execute business transformation initiatives successfully.

Before his tenure at TPWD, George held various Information Technology positions in the private sector, including Fisher Controls International, MediaNet, and Computer Science Corporation (CSC).

George is recognized as a technology leader by his colleagues around the state having served as the president of the Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications (TASSCC) as well as being active in several other civic and professional advisory boards. In 2013, George was awarded the TASSCC President’s Award for IT Excellence and in 2018 was awarded the CIO of the Year by the Texas Public Sector CIO Academy.

He attended the LBJ School of Public Affairs’ Governor’s Executive Development Program and the Executive Leadership for Information Technology Excellence.

He is a native of San Antonio, currently resides in the Austin area, is a graduate of Texas State University, and holds a degree in Computer Science.