The city of Amarillo announced the resignation July 2. Gagnon has served in several positions since joining the city in 2016, including director of IT, managing director and CIO.The city did not announce an interim or permanent replacement. City financial documents and the Texas Municipal League city officials directory list Missy Laird as Amarillo’s CIO, while city documents from this year identified her as director of IT. The directory does not state that Laird is replacing Gagnon as assistant city manager or CTO.
City Manager Grayson Path credited Gagnon with helping expand the city’s technology and communications capabilities.
“Over the past decade, Rich Gagnon has played a vital role in advancing the technological and communication capabilities of the city for the betterment of citizens and the community,” Path said in the city’s announcement. “The progress the city has made under Rich’s leadership and guidance has been immeasurable, and he has vastly improved the city’s ability to serve residents.”
In his most recent position, Gagnon was responsible for departments including Information Technology; the Amarillo Public Library; the Office of Engagement and Innovation; the Amarillo Civic Center; Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport; Amarillo Public Health; Women, Infants and Children; Amarillo City Transit; Community Development; and Environmental Health.
The city said Gagnon led initiatives involving infrastructure security, cybersecurity and broadband modernization in Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle. Those efforts included a multimillion-dollar public-private partnership with AT&T to provide high-speed connectivity across the city, including northern and northeastern Amarillo.
Gagnon also led the creation of Emma, the city’s first digital human employee, which serves as the face of the city website and answers resident questions 24 hours a day.
“The best part of this job was never the technology — it was the people,” Gagnon said in the city’s announcement. “I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some of the most dedicated, resourceful and service-minded teams I have ever had the opportunity to work with, and whatever we accomplished together, they made possible. I’m grateful for every one of them and Amarillo is blessed to have them.”
Before his work with Amarillo, Gagnon held private-sector technology leadership roles, including global vice president of systems engineering for F5 Networks, vice president of systems engineering for the Americas for Palo Alto Networks and director of network infrastructure for GameStop, according to his LinkedIn profile.
