Austin ousts 3 top IT officials amid ongoing internal review

The city this week terminated multiple employees within its Technology Services Department, including senior leadership.

Those separated from their positions include Chief Information Security Officer Brian Gardner and Senior IT Enterprise Architects Hawre Sulaiman and William Snead.

City spokesperson Jenny Caputo said the personnel actions stem from “an ongoing review.”

“This was not related to any known cybersecurity threats or issues with information security,” Caputo said in a prepared statement. “No more details are available pending the completion of the review.”

Caputo said Jeremiah Clifton, previously the city’s Deputy Chief Information Officer, has been appointed interim chief information officer.

Public records show Gardner, Sulaiman and Snead previously worked in the IT department at the city of Dallas, where Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax served in the same role before coming to Austin in 2024.

Gardner and Sulaiman declined to comment on the terminations, citing advice of counsel. Snead could not be reached for comment.