New Hanover County, N.C., CIO Retires After Nearly 20 Years

Leslie Chaney has retired from her position as CIO of New Hanover County, N.C., according to an Oct. 4 announcement.

Chaney retired at the end of September, having served 17 years with the county and 30 years in city government. Chaney was notably a part of the county’s effort to launch the nation’s first “super Wi-Fi” network in 2012.
Sunny Hwang will be the county’s new CIO. His first day with Hanover County will be Nov. 30.

Hwang brings IT experience from both the public and private sectors. He has been the IT director for the city of Charlottesville since 2018; he was the IT operations manager for the city for eight years prior. Before working in Charlottesville, he was the IT director for the town of Apex, N.C. His private-sector experience includes working as the IT director for Harris Williams & Co.

“[Chaney] brought incredible innovation, enhanced technology, customer-centric solutions and increased cybersecurity for the county, and I know our new CIO, Sunny Hwang, will be able to carry that important work forward,” County Manager Chris Coudriet said in the announcement.