Qing Liu

QING LIU

Chief Information Officer at Oregon Public Utility Commission

Can you please provide a little introduction about yourself

Celebrating more than 150 years of history, the work of the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) impacts every household throughout the state. The PUC is responsible for rate regulation of Oregon's investor-owned electric utilities (Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, and Idaho Power), natural gas utilities (Avista, Cascade Natural, and NW Natural),  telephone service providers (landline only), as well as select water companies.

The PUC also enforces electric and natural gas safety standards and handles utility-related dispute resolution on behalf of Oregon residents. In the event of an emergency, the PUC is part of the Oregon Emergency Response System to coordinate and manage state resources.  We are based in Salem, Oregon.  

I am the Chief Information Officer at the PUC supervising the day-to-day operations of the Information Services (IS) Team, managing the PUC’s IS strategy and security plans, overseeing projects including: application modernization, hardware and software life cycles, and cybersecurity assessments. 

What path have you taken to your current position?

I have been the CIO at the PUC since 2014.  I started my career in IT in 1997.  I contracted with HP as an internal hardware salesperson.  After a few other temporary contracts,

I landed the helpdesk position working for the PUC in 2001.  I was promoted to the Strategic Planner position in 2011 and because the CIO in 2014.

Has it always been your vision to reach the position you’re at? Was your current role part of your vision to become a tech leader?

When I was working as a helpdesk specialist in 2001, I never dreamed that I would become the CIO of the agency.  It took me 10 years of keeping employees happy and encouragement from the CIO at the time to move into the Strategic Planner position.  It was then that I realized I had more potential and I could do more with my skills.  

Our CIO at the time gave me opportunities to learn and to grow.  I think we all have doubts about our abilities to lead.  Life experiences and support from the people around us pushes us to achieve better things.  My realization came in 2012 when my daughter was born.  

Have you had a role model or mentor that has helped you on your journey? (If you feel comfortable, please share their name and how they helped you)

I had many mentors along my journey.  The PUC CIO, Vikie Malkasian who hired me as the helpdesk specialist, promoted me to Strategic Planner, and provided me opportunities to learn and grow; the PUC director, Rick Willis, after retirement kept in touch with me and provided guidance; the Oregon Youth Authority CIO, Steven Hoffert, gave me advice and helped me navigating the Oregon State IT governance process; and the current PUC COO, Mandy Standiford, working with me to improve our agency.

How do you see the role of the technology leader evolving over the next 5 years?

The PUC treats IT as a service to provide technology to the employees.  The three directives when I was hired were to keep the systems available, keep the information secure, and keep employees productive.  I think the role of IT is no longer supportive.  Every aspect of the business involves technology.  

Things can't be done without IT.  Our role should be partners with the business in providing consulting services and advices to our partners to better the agency.

What skills do you think leaders of the future will need in order to thrive?

We are in the technology industry; current knowledge of technology and security is a must.  We can't focus on technology only anymore.  We need to get ourselves involved with the business to understand the business processes and make the processes more efficient using technology.  

We have to be strategic in making these changes with the business. Outside of technology, we need to have leadership, organizational management, change management, project management, strategic planning, critical thinking, business process mapping, and people skills.

Is there anything in particular that you would still like to achieve in your career or what is the next step on your journey?

Conferences are a great way to learn new things and network with other leaders.  We currently have Microsoft Unified Support.  The technical training online available through the Unified Support is a great way to keep current on technology.  

You can learn about the technology used in different agencies or states by talking to peers.

What advice would you give to aspiring technology leaders who are just starting their careers?

Before GenAI, I would have said low code/no code.  Since the news coverage of GenAI and the adoption of AI in the private sector, I see the use of AI more and more for Government.

"You can still be a leader in your field without becoming a manager."

What has been the biggest challenge you've faced in your career so far, and how did you overcome it?

Really think about what you want to do with your skills.  Leaders and managers are different.  You don't become a leader by becoming a manager.  

Managers may be in a leadership role, but if you like technical things and don't want to manage people, stay in your technical role.  You can still be a leader in your field without becoming a manager.

What role do you see emerging technologies (e.g., AI, machine learning, blockchain) playing in your industry, and how are you preparing for them?

I'd like to challenge myself a bit more by moving to a different agency or company. There are plenty of opportunities within the PUC.  

I'm just too comfortable at the agency since I have been here for 20 plus years. I think a change would allow me to learn new things.  Maybe outside of IT.

A big thank you to QING LIU from Oregon Public Utility Commission for sharing his journey to date.

If you would like to gain more perspective from Tech Leaders and CIOs you can read some of our other interviews here.