The city of Dallas has named Jeffrey Stovall to serve as its CIO following his experience in the city of Charlotte, N.C., and more recently, in the private sector.
Stovall is taking the role previously held by former CIO Bill Zielinski, who retired from the public sector in April 2024; CIO duties in the city have since been filled in an interim capacity by Brian Gardner and more recently, Tanishia Dorsey.
The longtime tech leader served as Charlotte’s inaugural CIO for more than a decade starting in 2008 before returning to the private sector in October 2018. During his time with the city, he worked to make IT processes more efficient and improve its cyber posture to be more resilient in the face of attacks. As he previously told Government Technology, “Our cybersecurity infrastructure is just as important as any physical infrastructure that we have.” He was recognized in March 2018 as one of GT’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers.
Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert announced Stovall’s appointment in a Nov. 7 memorandum to the mayor and members of the City Council. His appointment will be effective Jan. 5.
Stovall will be charged with leading key modernization initiatives to improve outdated systems, reducing technical debt, and improving both security and sustainability. He will also be responsible for integrating AI into city operations, and in doing so, increasing efficiency and data-informed decision-making — while preserving public trust.
“I'm excited about this opportunity and look forward to collaborating with a great team,” Stovall said of the new role in a post on LinkedIn, noting that he will share more details after his January start date.
Most recently, Stovall served as the senior vice president and CIO for Abt Global where he directed IT, cybersecurity and digital strategy, resulting in a reduction of IT costs by nearly half, per the memorandum.
He is a member of the Society for Information Management, and serves as chairman and Dean’s Advisory Board member for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte College of Computing and Informatics.
He has also held leadership roles with Oracle Corp., PMMC and Sprint Nextel. He has a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
“[Stovall’s] vision, leadership and dedication to public service will help strengthen our city’s technology foundation and advance our commitment to innovation, efficiency and service excellence,” Tolbert said in her memorandum.
This story first appeared in Government Technology, Industry Insider — Texas’ sister publication.
City of Dallas Looks to Former Charlotte CIO to Lead IT
Jeffrey Stovall, who served as CIO for Charlotte, N.C., for more than 10 years, will head up Dallas IT operations starting in January. The longtime technologist has said he places a high value on cyber infrastructure.
