Ron Hughes, a veteran state technology executive who returned to public service to lead the EDDNext project, has announced his retirement. Hughes, who took on the role two years ago to help modernize the Employment Development Department (EDD), shared his departure in social media, marking the close of his latest chapter in public service.

“I’ve been lucky enough to spend the last two years helping EDD modernize the way they deliver services to the citizens of California,” Hughes wrote. “It’s been a great couple of years, and I want to thank everyone that I’ve been fortunate enough to work with. EDDNext is the largest modernization effort in the State of California and will not only replace outdated legacy technology with more modern cloud-based solutions but has also taken a customer-centric approach to providing services.”

Hughes has had a career spanning more than three decades in public service, punctuated by time in the private sector. He initially left government after overseeing the Y2K project but returned during the Brown Administration in 2012 to serve as director of the Office of Technology Services (OTech), the data center managed by the California Department of Technology.

As EDDNext project director, Hughes worked on major advancements, including the release of the highly anticipated Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Integrated Claims Management System (ICMS) in August. The initiative is a cornerstone of the department’s efforts to overhaul its legacy systems and improve service delivery.