What Happened?
Rock Springs, WY-based Sweetwater Co School Dist 1 has announced the Resignation of Chase Hafner as Chief Information Officer
About the Company
Sweetwater Co School Dist 1 is a School District with 5300 Student and 1200 Staff Members - Located in Rock Springs, Wyoming (Southwestern Wyoming).
About the Person
Chase Hafner, an IT executive with a history of progressive leadership and solutions innovation, has spearheaded business transformation through dramatic changes in technology capabilities, infrastructure, stakeholder collaboration, and cost control – while establishing strategic roadmaps for year-over-year improvement. The CIO for Sweetwater One in Rock Springs, WY, Chase has created an enterprise-class organization serving nearly 7,000 constituents by supplying cutting-edge, cost-effective security, applications, networking, and mobile device support solutions and positioning the organization as a model of effective technology usage. In his current role, Chase led sweeping changes in technology utilization, facilitating heightened expectations among users by setting high standards for IT responsiveness and systems availability. In forging strategic relationships among the company’s executive team and Board, he built an effective business case for a significant increase in IT investments, with upgrades to infrastructure and staff important to reliable systems performance. Chase also worked closely with vendors to impart an understanding of the company’s budgetary needs—holding the line on costs and securing 50%-60% in discounts, while boosting systems capabilities and establishing leasing schedules for optimum ROI. Recognizing the need for reengineered business processes across the company, Chase stepped in to target functional areas for automation, orchestrating operational improvements including a substantial drop in payroll processing time with the rollout of a new timekeeping system and workflow. Featured in industry publications for establishing mobile computing security and device Acceptable Use Policy, Chase met the needs of technology-savvy student users with strategies including a student BYOD environment. In addition, he created a defensive security posture, leading access control solutions with upgraded, complex security systems and video surveillance. With influence throughout the organization, Chase studied and resolved areas of excess spending, including the need for in-person meetings among users in different locales. Here, he brought in Cisco and Apple collaboration tools effective in changing practices throughout the organization. He also created a Centralized Purchasing function credited with saving $2M through consolidated buying efforts and new processing standards. A dedicated team leader with an eye for talent, Chase expanded and strengthened the company’s IT resources, creating a high-performance technology staff against the challenge of a sparsely populated region. With new IT team members hired for cultural fit and a focus on customer satisfaction, Chase continually developed department members with advanced training and mentoring on technology topics. He also built outsourcing and staff augmentation strategies, allowing access to specialized talent and the ability to expedite completion of aggressive project milestones. Chase’s previous roles include Principal Architect for CenturyLink (formerly Qwest and US WEST), where he managed large initiatives to support a complex telecommunications billing system processing $13B in annual revenue—operating at a Director level with authority for project teams of up to 50 members charged with software development. Here, he built the business case for complex software and infrastructure changes, with selection of software, hardware, networking, and tools to meet long-term needs. In creating comprehensive applications capable of handling billing needs, he patented 2 rules-based engines still in use today. Chase earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from DeVry Institute of Technology. He holds a CIO Pocket MBA Certificate from Boston University, a CIO Institute Certificate from the University of California at Berkeley, and an ITIL v3 Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management.
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