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Anthony Guarino has served as the Deputy Director and Chief Operations Officer at the ASRS since 1994. He is responsible for organizing and managing most administrative services and functions, including member services, financial services, information services, and administrative support services which includes staffing, procurement and budget.

Mr. Guarino is the chief architect of the agency's strategic planning model which enables the ASRS to direct and focus resources in a cost effective and efficient way, keeping costs down in the long run, while maximizing member satisfaction.

As part of this ongoing planning effort Mr. Guarino completed an ambitious business re-engineering and technology plan that brought the ASRS into the 21st century with an exciting combination of technology upgrades, productivity enhancements, and sophisticated tracking and measurement systems. He has since turned his attention to the web, and is now in the process of developing a suite of online services and functions to take advantage of ongoing technological developments to further enhance agency productivity, and accommodate a new generation of members.

To keep staff motivated and looking forward, Mr. Guarino challenged his employees several years ago to work with him and develop their own "brand" of public service. The result was the "PRIDE Initiative," a brand of public service based on the agency's values, calling upon staff to be professional at all times, focus on results and continuous improvement, respect diversity, and always search for excellence.

Mr. Guarino was also responsible for implementing an enterprise-wide risk management approach at the ASRS that provides members and stakeholder's reasonable assurance that the agency is taking appropriate steps to manage and mitigate risks that could threaten the agency.

Prior to joining the ASRS, Mr. Guarino spent 10 years with the Arizona Office of the Auditor General and was a Project Leader for five years. In this position, Mr. Guarino evaluated some of the state's largest agencies in order to improve operational efficiency, effectiveness and customer service in the public sector.