Virginia ABC ousts CIO responsible for modernizing systems

The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority has lost its fourth executive officer in nearly 10 months in the latest sign of instability within the authority’s leadership.

Paul Williams is out as ABC’s Chief Information Officer after serving in the role since 2016. Williams told the Virginia Mercury he was “separated from employment at ABC” by CEO Dale Farino with no notice May 8 without severance or compensation for his time at the authority. 

Williams said the reason Farino gave is he, “doesn’t want me on his executive team; doesn’t trust me to be his leader of a section of the ABC business.”

ABC became an at-will employer after its transition to an authority in 2018, meaning it does not have to provide any severance. According to documents obtained by the Mercury from a Freedom of Information Act request, Williams’ salary was $271,215 in fiscal year 2024, as of July 1, 2023— the second highest paid position at ABC below the CEO. 

Williams is the latest to join the authority’s executive exodus, following the resignations of former Chief Transformation Officer Elizabeth Chu in October, former Chief Executive Officer Travis Hill in August and former Chief Digital and Branding Officer Vida Williams in January. 

Upon his arrival at ABC, Williams inherited the task of updating and modernizing the authority’s technical system. According to ABC, in 2014, the authority had “huge” technical debt and 13 of its technical systems — including point-of-sale and warehouse inventory management — were “beyond its useful life” and “unsupportable.” As of 2023, all but three systems were modernized. 

“The mountain of technical debt that has been addressed in the past five years has been a financial drain and a source of stress for the organization,” Williams told ABC’s Board of Directors in a meeting in late March. “We cannot repeat those mistakes.”

However, Williams told the board that ABC is now delaying some of its IT modernization projects because of the authority’s effort to cut costs in response to a $110 million shortfall in profits, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. 

Williams told the Mercury he finds it convenient that he was let go after ABC revealed it wouldn’t be investing money into technology systems and projects. While he understands that the chief information officer position may not be needed if new projects aren’t in the works, Williams said ABC should have handled his separation differently. 

“I think this is just wrong — seven and a half years of service and no recognition, nothing,” Williams said. “Just goodbye, go away — it does not seem appropriate.”

He also pointed out that he was the only C-suite member, excluding Farino, that isn’t named in ABC Director of Retail Operations Jennifer Burke’s federal whistleblower lawsuit against the authority. 

In his observation, he said Farino came into an executive leadership team where Williams was the odd one out. 

“It’s significantly easier to remove the one that’s different than to remove the entire four that are the same,” Williams said.

Farino declined to comment on Williams’ departure, as ABC spokesperson Jeff Caldwell cited it as a “personnel matter.”

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the first name of Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority CEO Dale Farino.