After a seven-year stint with the city of Dallas, Brian Gardner has accepted a new role with the city of Austin as deputy chief information officer (CIO). He brings more than 33 years of executive leadership and IT experience in both public and private sectors to the position.
As deputy CIO, Gardner will be responsible for Austin’s Enterprise Infrastructure and Operations team. He will lead the city’s efforts to ensure all departments receive quality and reliable IT customer service, infrastructure and network services.
Gardner started his tenure in the public sector in 2017, initially joining Dallas as its chief information security officer. He stayed in that role for five years, overseeing the city’s efforts to assess and mitigate risk, develop cybersecurity directives and ensure the city’s information systems were properly protected.
From there, he was promoted to chief technology officer in 2023. Over the next year, Gardner provided a guiding hand for the city’s technology development and integration practices, ensuring government operations proceeded smoothly and efficiently.
He held his final role in Dallas as chief information officer with the city for 11 months, providing key leadership to optimize IT performance, communication, long-term technology strategy and upgrading the city’s IT infrastructure.
Gardner has earned a Doctor of Philosophy for Information Technology from Capella University, a Master of Science for Computer and Information Systems Security and Information Assurance from Lewis University and a Bachelor of Science for Economic Fraud and Investigation from Utica University.