- Georgia Institute of Technology President G.P. "Bud" Peterson is retiring this summer, ending a 10-year term as leader of one of the nation's top research institutions. Peterson was chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder when he was hired to lead Georgia Tech in 2009. The University System of Georgia will conduct a national search for Peterson's replacement.
- Tracy McKee has been hired as the chief innovation officer for the city of Charleston. McKee was hired for the new role in November after serving an eight-month stint as Baltimore's chief data officer. Before working in Baltimore, from 1999 through January 2018, McKee oversaw Charleston's GIS division within the Department of Technology.
- Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has hired former Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) Director Paul Trombino III as her chief operations officer to provide leadership of state government agencies. Trombino was the Iowa DOT director for Reynolds' predecessor Terry Branstad from 2011 to 2016. Trombino is currently the president of an engineering firm in Clive.
- Air Force veteran and former comptroller Douglas Murdock has been named Hawaii's chief information officer (CIO). Murdock replaces CIO Todd Nacapuy, who recently announced he was leaving the public sector to work for a private firm. Murdock currently works as the state comptroller and director of the Department of Accounting and General Services, and as vice president of administrative and fiscal affairs for the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
- Nicole Keaton Hart has been chosen as the chief information officer for Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia. Hart was previously the deputy chief information officer with the county. Hart's predecessor in the role, Sallie Wright, departed in August following nearly three years in the position. Chief Financial Officer Sharon Whitmore was tapped to oversee tech work there while the county conducted a search for Wright's replacement.
- Julie Anderson, who has been the deputy emergency management director for a little over a year, was officially hired as the full-time director for Douglas County. She is taking over for Douglas County Sheriff Troy Wolbersen, who, besides being the sheriff full-time, served as the emergency management director for the last 12 years. Anderson will also take on the responsibilities of being the county's public information officer, a position that serves as the communications coordinator or spokesperson for various governmental agencies.
- The United States Senate confirmed James Gfrerer Jan. 3 as chief information officer (CIO) and assistant secretary of internet technology at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The move makes Gfrerer the first permanent CIO at the VA since the start of the Trump administration, ending a nearly two-year vacancy. Gfrerer was in the U.S. Marine Corps for 20 years, including serving as the first director of the Marine Corps Information Operations Center. Since 2015, he has been an executive director at a professional services firm.
- Savannah State University President Cheryl Dozier is retiring at the end of June. Dozier has been president of the university since 2011, after working the prior 17 years as an administrator at the University of Georgia. Kimberly Ballard-Washington, currently associate vice chancellor of legal affairs at the University System of Georgia, will take over as the interim president effective July 1.
- Tricia Foster is the new director of the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. The announcement follows the departure of David DeVries, the former chief information officer (CIO) for Michigan, who also served as director of the state's Department of Technology, Management and Budget. It is not yet clear if Foster will also serve as CIO for the state. Foster is the former senior managing director and chief operating officer of a real estate investment firm, where she worked for more than 20 years.
- Christina Callahan, executive director of the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority, will take a job as deputy general manager of LaGuardia Airport. She will start the new job in March. Prior to her role as executive director, Callahan led the Syracuse airport as aviation commissioner of the City of Syracuse. When the Federal Aviation Administration approved the creation of a new Syracuse Regional Airport Authority in 2014, Callahan became the authority's first executive director.
- Simone Marstiller has been chosen to serve as secretary of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. Marstiller was a judge on the 1st District Court of Appeal for nearly six years before retiring in December 2015. Timothy Niermann has served as interim secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice since August. Niermann replaced former Secretary Christy Daly Brodeur, who resigned and has taken a job with a lobbying firm.
- Nancy Kerry has been selected as the new city manager for Frisco. Kerry is the former city manager of South Lake Tahoe, Calif. The move to hire Kerry comes just over three months after former Frisco town manager Randy Ready announced his resignation from the position. Frisco's director of recreation, Diane McBride, stepped into the role of interim town manager during the town's search for Ready's replacement.