Ward joins Austin after serving as Bell County’s CIO since 2014. Before becoming CIO, he spent three years as an assistant director with the county.His appointment follows a search the city launched this summer for a chief technology officer to help lead Austin Technology Services. The position reports to CIO Kerrica Laake and is responsible for the development and execution of the city’s Technology Roadmap, enterprise architecture and technology infrastructure.
The CTO also oversees long-term capital planning, citywide technology strategy, infrastructure modernization and the evaluation of emerging technologies for city operations. The portfolio includes more than 130 employees, six direct reports and a technology budget exceeding $60 million.
Ward brings more than 24 years of IT and management experience to the position. His LinkedIn profile describes his work at Bell County as encompassing IT strategy and innovation, enterprise architecture, infrastructure, cybersecurity and IT governance.
Before joining Bell County, Ward spent more than 12 years at McLane Company as a systems manager. He joined Bell County as an assistant director in 2011 before moving into the CIO position three years later.
Ward holds a Master of Science in information systems and a Bachelor of Science in computer science from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
