Seattle CTO Rob Lloyd to step down for new role

Rob Lloyd (pictured), Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the City of Seattle, will step down from his role on 27 March to join the Center for Digital Government after nearly two years leading the city’s technology agenda.

In an interview with Cities Today, Lloyd said the decision comes as Seattle’s new administration reshapes its leadership team and sets priorities for the coming years.

“With a new administration, all get to define the team that will best achieve their vision. The City of Seattle’s cabinet is half new,” Lloyd said. “It’s appropriate to make space for different approaches when there are leadership transitions.”

While he had been invited to remain in the role, Lloyd said the leadership changes created a natural moment to step aside as the administration prepares for upcoming decisions, including the next budget cycle and preparations for the FIFA World Cup.

During his tenure, Lloyd focused heavily on stabilising major technology programmes and rebuilding confidence in the city’s ability to deliver IT projects.

“Workday now works. Unified Communications is done. The Criminal Case Management System went live without major issue,” he said. “That does a lot to show that city IT investments can be successful and trusted–they don’t have to be too long, frustrating, nor go over budget.”

Alongside project delivery, Lloyd said a major priority was strengthening the culture and processes within Seattle IT to reconnect staff with the wider mission of city government.

“From our surveys and the kind messages I’ve received, it has meant a lot to set a vision and mission that reconnects every Seattle IT team member to the city and its departments,” he said. “We created mechanisms to listen to customers and staff so we continuously improve.”

A central initiative during Lloyd’s tenure was developing a unified approach to technology across the city’s public safety agencies, including fire, police, mental health first responders and emergency management.

“This was really fun! We have exceptional leadership in our Fire, Police, CARE (mental health first responders), and Emergency Management departments. Among the best in the nation,” he said.

“Our theses identified that Seattle wants joint insights and coordinated response to best serve our residents; that resources are leaner heading forward whereas our number one IT spend growth area is public safety by a mile,” Lloyd added.

The approach helped align technology investments across departments while strengthening the case for coordinated funding and planning.

Lloyd also led the organisation through significant financial pressure. Seattle IT absorbed a US$21 million operating budget reduction while maintaining service performance and improving delivery.

“That we led the human side of the change well and that we have a remarkable team that figured out how to absorb the hits and get better while reducing resources and staff,” he said.

In his new role at the Center for Digital Government, Lloyd said he will draw on experience working across local governments of different sizes to support peers addressing complex digital transformation challenges.

“Governments do operate differently at different scales–resources, the power of a few strong personalities, how activists engage, control processes mature organisations put in place, historical and state contexts,” he said. “That experience gives me a lot to draw on to help peers–many I’ve known for a long time–as we all address incredible challenges.”

In a resignation letter to the mayor and city council, Lloyd thanked the city for the opportunity to serve and said he would support the transition until his departure.