Former Dallas CIO Exits Private Sector for Thornton, Colo.

Bill Zielinski is returning to municipal government in Colorado after a career that has taken him from federal technology leadership to the CIO’s office in Dallas and, most recently, the private sector.

Zielinski announced Sunday on LinkedIn that he is starting a new position as CIO for Thornton, Colo. City officials did not respond to a request for comment on the appointment.

Zielinski spent nearly four years as Dallas’ CIO, helming its Information and Technology Services department from June 2020 to April 2024. During his tenure, the city worked on network upgrades, improvements to its 911 communications capabilities and a new human resources management system.

Dallas also piloted an effort to address gaps in residents’ Internet access and introduced recurring reports covering IT security, management, projects and performance.

Zielinski’s work extended beyond Dallas’ own operations. He helped shepherd a new P25-compliant public safety radio system, designed to support communications across the region, through cooperation with other jurisdictions and a vendor partnership.

After leaving Dallas, he joined Gartner as an executive partner, advising public-sector leaders on technology and drawing on lessons from his own time inside government. The move gave Zielinski an opportunity to work with public-sector executives from a different vantage point — sharing his experience with leaders facing many of the same questions about tech investments, cybersecurity, infrastructure and service delivery.

Zielinski’s public-service career spans more than three decades, per LinkedIn. Before Dallas, he held several federal tech leadership positions, including serving as CIO of the Social Security Administration. He also served as an assistant commissioner overseeing the IT category at the General Services Administration and helped lead implementation of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act across the federal government.

He has a personal connection to public service, Zielinski told Industry Insider — Texas* in 2023, when he was still Dallas CIO. “I didn’t want to leave government — I’m the child of public servants,” he said. “I wanted to get back into operations where I was much closer to those who I’m trying to serve.”

*Industry Insider — Texas is part of e.Republic, Government Technology’s parent company.