City of Austin Executive Ranks Shaken Up

Wednesday, March 1st saw major shake-ups among the City of Austin’s executive ranks.

The changes, part of an ongoing organizational review by recently appoint Interim City Manager Jesús Garza are as follows:

OUTGOING STAFF:

  • Retired -> Rey Arellano, Assistant City Manager over Public Safety.

  • Resigned -> Jacqueline Yaft, Executive Director, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

NEW FACES (To Some):

  • Joe Canales, former Deputy City Manager for the City of Austin, will serve as Special Assistant to the Interim City Manager

    • Canales most recently (starting August 2019) served as President of CONNECT Advisory Services, a firm which provides consultative services to clients in the areas of business development, human resource management and client relations.

    • Prior to that, from 2014 to 2019 he served as Vice President, Human Resources, Seton Healthcare Family.

    • He served as Deputy City Manager previously from 1980 - 2006

    • Source: LinkedIn

  • Bruce Mills, former Assistant Chief of the Austin Police Department, will serve as Interim Assistant City Manger over Public Safety.

    • Mills most recently served as Partner/Owner in Public Sector Solutions

    • Served on the Austin Public Department from 1973 to 2000.

    • Source: LinkedIn

  • Jim Smith, former Executive Director of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, will reprise this role in an interim capacity.

    • Smith most recently served as Executive Director of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport from 2001 to 2019.

    • Prior to that he served as an Assistant City Manager from 1992 - 2000.

    • Source: LinkedIn

  • Laura Huffman, founder of Civicsol and former Assistant City Manager for the City of Austin, will serve as a consultant in change management.

    • Huffman most served as President & CEO of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce from 2020 to 2023.

    • Prior to that she was the Texas State Director of the Nature Conservancy from 2008 to 2020.

    • She served as an Assistant City Manager from 2002 to 2008.

    • Source: LinkedIn

These add to an expanding number of key leadership positions currently occupied by interim leadership, including:

  • Assistant City Manager for Mobility

  • Development Services Department Director

  • Austin Transportation Department Director

  • Austin Code Department Director

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