Santiago Garces Appointed New Chief Information Officer; Julia Gutierrez Named Chief Digital Officer

Mayor Michelle Wu announced today two new senior City of Boston technology leaders.  The Mayor appointed Santiago Garces as the Chief Information Officer, overseeing the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) and driving the City’s technology agenda.  The Mayor also named Julia Gutierrez as the Chief Digital Officer, leading a team within the DoIT charged with ensuring exceptional online experiences for constituents looking to engage with the City government. Garces and Gutierrez will begin working in their new roles in May and April respectively. 

“Technology is essential for delivering great city services—from closing the digital divide, to streamlining City transactions and performing data analytics to improve our operations,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “I’m thrilled for the leadership of Santiago Garces and Julia Gutierrez to help build and drive our technology agenda and connect our city. I’m grateful to Alex Lawrence for her leadership of DoIT during this interim period and for building such a strong foundation.”

“I am so excited to be joining this administration to help move the City forward. My career has been focused on how City governments can better use technology with and for their residents,” said Santiago Garces, incoming Chief Information Officer.  “I am looking forward to taking the next steps here in Boston, where there is a great track record of tech innovation and a great opportunity to do even more.”

As Chief Information Officer, Garces will oversee DoIT and its team of approximately 150 employees.  This team provides and maintains mission-critical technologies for the City’s more than 18,000 employees and the hundreds of thousands of constituents they serve. 

Garces is currently the Executive Director of the Department of Community Investment in South Bend, Indiana, and formerly served as the CIO of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and of South Bend. Born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, Garces previously helped found enFocus, a non-profit dedicated to providing innovative solutions for government and industry.  

He is a graduate of Notre Dame with degrees in Electrical Engineering, Political Science, and a master’s degree in Technology Entrepreneurship.

Since November of 2021, Alex Lawrence has served as the Mayor’s Chief Information Officer and spearheaded the search for her successor as well as for the Chief Digital Officer.

Garces will be joined by Julia Gutierrez, who will be leading the DoIT’s Digital Services team.  This team designs and manages tech products that Boston residents most directly interact with, such as Boston.gov and a range of mobile apps, including Boston311.

“I’m honored and excited to lead digital services for the City of Boston. I’ve been inspired by Mayor Wu’s vision for a City of Boston that represents all types of Bostonians,” said Julia Gutierrez, incoming Chief Digital Officer. “As a part of this administration, I look forward to reimagining and delivering exceptional government services that are accessible, inclusive, and equitable.”

Gutierrez was previously at Massachusetts Digital Service where she worked with partner organizations across State government to reimagine how they deliver services to constituents online. Prior to her time at Mass Digital, Gutierrez worked at Fundacion IDEA, a Mexican public policy think tank on social development and youth development policy projects. Born and raised on the Mexico-US border in South Texas, Gutierrez holds a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University. 

Gutierrez lives in Jamaica Plain.

More information can be found online for the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) and the Digital Services Team.