City of Grand Rapids issued the following announcement on Feb. 3.
The City of Grand Rapids today announced the hiring of Doug Start as its new information technology (IT) director. The move follows a competitive national search process and elevates the City’s strategic value of innovation.
Start served as the City’s interim IT director for six months before the appointment, improving organizational processes, infrastructure and cyber security.
He joined the City in 2017 as its IT manager. He previously worked for Grand Haven Public Schools for 17 years, playing a key role in the district’s technology transformation efforts.
“Mr. Start brings new energy and a customer focus to this role,” City Manager Mark Washington said. “He is not afraid to challenge how things have been done before and offer new and innovative ways to serve our community and enhance our operations. This aligns with our organizational value of innovation and helps us continue to elevate quality of life and city services for our residents.”
As Grand Haven Public Schools’ director of instructional technology, Start developed a long-term, sustainable vision for the integration and use of technology and planned and implemented an overhaul of the district’s network infrastructure.
“We look forward to him bringing that same kind of insight and energy to our IT initiatives, including the development of a new IT strategic plan and roadmap,” said Doug Matthews, assistant city manager and chief administrative officer.
Start said he was thrilled for the opportunity to serve the City and Grand Rapids community in this role.
“I look forward to continuing to work with the dedicated employees of this organization as they design and deliver quality services to our residents,” he said. “We have done a lot of really good work in creating an IT program that is strategic, sustainable and industry-aligned, and I am excited to continue moving that work forward.”
Start has a master’s degree in educational technology and a bachelor’s degree in business education from Western Michigan University. He began his career as a business teacher at Grand Haven Public Schools, where he also coached football and wrestling.
Original source can be found here.
Source: City of Grand Rapids
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