David Johnson: Guiding Tech-Pushed Change within the Metropolis of Austin

From Quiet Beginnings to Tech Management

David Johnson didn’t develop up in an enormous metropolis or attend elite prep colleges. He was raised on a generational farm in southern Oklahoma by his grandparents. Life was easy, however not all the time simple.

“I didn’t understand we had been poor till I needed to go on the college lunch program,” Johnson recollects. “We grew our personal meals. The greens got here from our backyard or had been canned from the summer season earlier than.”

These early classes in resourcefulness and grit formed his path. Over time, he went from a child serving to elevate cattle to main expertise for one of many largest water utilities within the nation.

Climbing the Tech Ladder the Laborious Approach

Johnson took an unconventional path into IT. He didn’t get his faculty diploma till later in life, graduating from Covenant School in 2010. However lengthy earlier than that, he was already deep in enterprise programs.

He began with American Airways in Fort Value in 1989, managing their IT knowledge middle. “I helped construct out the SAP infrastructure that may later help their core programs,” he says. That function gave him early publicity to large-scale tech rollouts and mission-critical programs.

From there, he moved into managed providers. At Strong Techniques in Houston and Deloitte & Touche Outsourcing in Philadelphia, Johnson helped run IT for exterior purchasers — gaining expertise in vendor administration and hybrid IT supply fashions.

ERCOT and the Energy Grid Problem

In 2003, he took on a high-stakes function at ERCOT, the Electrical Reliability Council of Texas. As Director of IT Operations, Johnson helped construct programs that supported over 35 million every day transactions for the state’s energy grid.

“Texas was simply coming into deregulation,” he says. “I labored on market job forces that formed how expertise would help the brand new mannequin.”

He additionally applied ITIL-based service administration, serving to ERCOT resolve audit points and enhance system integrity.

Sensible Grids and Smarter Cities

Subsequent got here a transfer to EPB in Chattanooga, the place Johnson served as Vice President and CIO for over a decade. There, he helped construct one in every of North America’s first absolutely automated electrical grids — a serious milestone in utility expertise.

“Working with nationwide labs and cutting-edge distributors, we took concepts from paper to manufacturing,” Johnson says. “That grid set a brand new bar for uptime and automation.”

He additionally led the development of over 10 high-availability knowledge facilities, pushed ahead “massive knowledge” analytics dealing with 20 billion factors per yr, and adopted early cloud platforms like AWS and Azure.

Austin Proud: Tech within the Public Sector

In 2021, Johnson returned to Texas to tackle a brand new problem—serving as a CIO based mostly in Austin. He introduced with him years of private-sector expertise into the general public utility area.

“I needed to study to navigate the tempo and transparency of presidency work,” he says. “However the mission was the identical: construct resilient, scalable programs that serve folks.”

He led enterprise-wide digital transformation, managed delicate knowledge compliance (HIPAA, PCI, PII), and modernized ERP and HRIS programs. Johnson additionally pushed for a hybrid cloud technique to help flexibility and enterprise continuity.

Management and Classes Discovered

For Johnson, success isn’t nearly delivering tasks — it’s about main folks.

“As an introvert, my greatest problem was studying the best way to have interaction,” he shares. “I needed to understand wanting folks within the eye wasn’t an indication of aggression. Most individuals imply properly.”

He’s proudest of his management file. Over the past 11 years, he retained 100% of his key technical workers. He credit that to mentoring, clear purpose setting, and transparency.

“You lead folks, not handle them,” he says. “Which means being sincere about what’s attainable, setting priorities, and giving others the instruments to develop.”

A Broader Affect Past Tech

Johnson’s management goes past IT. He’s served on advisory boards on the College of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga State, and for the United Approach. He’s additionally on the board for the Plentiful Life Kids’s Dwelling in Texas.

In his private time, he’s nonetheless related to his roots — serving to handle the household farm and staying concerned with the Masonic Flora Lodge in Quitman, TX.

 Classes from a Lifetime in Tech

When requested what drives him, David Johnson is obvious: “I wish to give my household the safety I didn’t all the time have rising up. And I wish to construct issues that matter — that assist communities.”

His story is a reminder that tech management isn’t nearly certifications or coding. It’s about persistence, imaginative and prescient, and staying grounded.

“I set my targets based mostly on what the group wants,” he says. “Then I knock out the fast wins, so I can concentrate on the massive ones.”

From a childhood on the farm to main enterprise programs throughout the U.S., David Johnson reveals that the place you begin doesn’t outline the place you’ll be able to go — however the way you lead, all the time does.

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