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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//Bingham Group