Clark County, Nev., Names Michael Lane Permanent CIO

As the most populous county in the state of Nevada, Clark County’s IT stability and infrastructure touch many people — visitor and resident alike.

The good news is that Clark County, which is home to Sin City itself, Las Vegas, once again has a captain at the helm of its IT ship.

Former Clark County CIO Louis Carr Jr., left the position in October, reports Government Technology. After Carr’s departure, Michael Lane was installed as interim CIO for the county. The interim tag didn’t last long, however; Lane was confirmed as the county’s permanent CIO in early December, confirms GovTech.

Prior to taking on this role with the county, Lane served as IT director for various Las Vegas casinos such as Harrah’s and the Palms. More recently, he’s served as a CEO for various companies in the private sector. So while he’s served in the IT capacity before, it is a role Lane is readjusting himself to.

“I was a teacher for three years and I saw this opportunity at the county and the ability to give back in government and be back in IT, so I jumped on it,” he said.

After being installed as county CIO, Lane got right to work developing his 90-day plan. Like many county CIOs, among his top priorities was cybersecurity.

“The primary thing is ensuring we’re evolving our strategy to handle the changing security landscape,” Lane told The Las Vegas Review-Journal. “As a government agency, I feel like we have a strong responsibility to protect not only our employees’ information but also any information about our citizens we have in our system.”

Lane is inheriting a staff of roughly 160 people supporting approximately 38 government departments, according to GovTech.