SIMON HUANG TITLE : CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
CITY OF ST . LOUIS
As CTO for the City of St . Louis and St . Louis Development Corporation , Simon Huang reports to Mayor Tishaura O . Jones . He bears a crucial responsibility to support her vision in building a stronger , safer and healthier St . Louis , working closely with IT departments and external vendors and partners on implementing digital initiatives for greater innovation .
“ I focus on modernising city operations through technology so that we can have a more efficient and responsive city ,” he says . “ I aim to enhance service delivery for our stakeholders , both internal and external and foster equitable access to technology for all St . Louisans .”
SIMON HUANG TITLE : CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
Forming a digital frontier As with any geographically large city , St . Louis faces many challenges in terms of ensuring its residents are digitally connected . Significantly , as Simon has explained , a lot of the city ’ s infrastructure has not been updated in a substantial length of time .
“ For example , our lighting infrastructure , which a lot of cities depend on for smart city initiatives , is based on an old electrical grid that ’ s going to take a lot to upgrade across the city ,” he adds . “ There is also a large network of roads that need to be constantly maintained , which impacts the amount of dollars that might be available for other improvement initiatives .”
Moving away from legacy technology is essential in order to thrive in the modern world . The City of St . Louis ’ modernisation strategy is vital because it allows the city to be more efficient and responsive to resident needs , in addition to saving costs to focus more on transformative projects .
Simon Huang serves as Chief Technology Officer for the City of St . Louis and St . Louis Development Corporation , reporting to Mayor Tishaura O . Jones . Focused on technology strategy , operational efficiency , and equitable service delivery , he leads citywide technological initiatives . His goals include modernizing government services , increasing data maturity , and expanding internet access to foster inclusive growth .
Huang evaluates current practices , collaborates with local agencies , and cultivates partnerships with technology vendors and industry leaders . His background in both public and private sectors spans diverse industries . Huang holds degrees from Grinnell College and Washington University in St . Louis including an MBA .
316 September 2024