Denver Taps Internal IT Lead for Chief Data Officer Job

The consolidated city and county of Denver has named its own Sean Greer to serve as chief data officer, filling a position that has been vacant since it was created this summer.

Greer's first day in the role was Tuesday, according to an email from Amanda Weston, communications specialist for city Technology Services.

Greer is not new to Denver, as he has served as the city’s IT director of service delivery for more than five years; according to Weston, this role is currently vacant. Prior to joining the city’s Technology Services team, Greer worked in various IT roles at the Denver International Airport for more than 12 years.

“Denver has established itself as a leader in addressing complex challenges with groundbreaking and innovative solutions,” Greer said in a statement. “Data is the cornerstone of this progress, and I am thrilled to spearhead the initiatives that will drive our city's data-driven future.”

In August, after Ashley Bolton left Denver’s chief data and information security officer role to work in Jefferson County, Colo., Denver announced the position was being split into chief data officer and chief information security officer roles — the latter of which was filled by Merlin Namuth in October. This isn’t the first time the city-county has had a stand-alone data leader role; Bolton's predecessor Paul Kresser was hired as a CDO in March 2019.

Greer’s responsibilities in the position entail developing a data strategy in alignment with Denver’s strategic goals. This includes using data to build actionable insights for improving both city operations and the citizen experience. The work will also include establishing data governance frameworks to address data quality and security.

“With cyber and information security being such a critical need for governments, our CIO, Suma Nallapati, wanted to use this opportunity to create a CISO role to reinforce our prioritization of that part of our work,” Denver Chief Digital Officer Jenny Schiavone previously told Government Technology of the split. “Data has also become more critical than ever for Denver, and Suma envisions the CDO position as a data evangelist for the city.”

Nallapati noted the value of Greer’s leadership experience in technology and data management in a statement. His experience includes leading efforts in Denver to use technology to improve the performance and efficiency of operations. One initiative he led, implementing an Automation Center of Excellence program, was nationally recognized.

Greer has a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and computer information systems from Colorado State University.