Kerry O’Connor to become the first Chief Innovation Officer
City Manager Marc Ott announced today, Dec. 17, that he was appointing Kerry O’Connor to become the first Chief Innovation Officer to the City of Austin.
O’Connor is an Innovation Catalyst with the Research & Design Center for the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Secretary where she established innovation methodologies such as open innovation, human-centered design and agile software development.
O’Connor previously worked for the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Secretary as Program Manager where she managed technical and programmatic components of an employee idea generation program. She also participated in White House sponsored interagency working groups, incorporating innovation in government so that employees think differently, take risks and redesign approaches to solving problems. Other positions held include Management Analyst for the Office of Management Policy Rightsizing and Innovation and several overseas assignments for various U.S. Embassies.
O’Connor holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from James Madison University.
“I expect the Innovation Office to work across City departments, as well as forge relationships between the City, university, community, businesses, and the technology community and to serve as a gateway for proactively engaging diverse constituencies in creating unique and creative solutions to civic challenges,” said Austin City Manager Marc Ott.
O’Connor will begin employment with the City on March 24, 2014. Her starting salary will be $130,000 annually. She was the top finalist from an extensive national search process that included interview panels and public engagement through a community forum.