San Jose deputy city manager named Seattle’s interim tech chief
Rob Lloyd, who has served as deputy city manager for aviation, transportation and technology for the City of San Jose, California, since 2016, was named on Thursday by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell as Seattle’s interim chief technology officer and director of the city’s Information Technology Department.
Harrell selected Lloyd following a national search initiated this spring, which included listening sessions with Seattle’s IT department and other city employees. The process garnered 300 applicants, and eventually led to four finalists.
Lloyd’s set to start his new role in Seattle on June 24.
“It is a privilege to join the City of Seattle and the Seattle community. The One Seattle Initiatives are compelling as they take on the challenges of today’s big cities in a direct, smart way,” Lloyd said in the announcement. “I’m looking forward to working with our teams and partners to make a difference in that mission. My thanks to the Seattle staff for their exceptional graciousness throughout the hiring process. This is an impressive organization at every level.”
Lloyd was previously San Jose’s chief information officer. He’s credited with advancing measures for privacy, equity through tech, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity alliances and 311 as a community platform. He also helped lead San Jose’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and has been recognized for this work guiding other tech officials on on procurement, blight mitigation, public participation and strategic planning.
Lloyd has also held IT leadership roles for governments in Arizona, Oregon and Colorado. He’s served on the National Privacy Council, the National Equity Council, the Asian Pacific American Municipal Officials caucus and is a past president of the Metropolitan Information Exchange, a national association for local government technology executives.
“Seattle is a world-leading technology hub, and I am excited for Rob to join the team and support our One Seattle vision to be a world-leading government in the use of technology to better serve our communities,” Harrell said in the announcement. “Rob is a well-known and well-respected leader in his field, and I believe his knowledge, experience, and commitment to public service will help him succeed in a role that is connected to everything we do as a city.”
