Aaron Bentley has left his role as Salt Lake City CIO to join the state of Utah as its deputy director of agency services. Bentley officially began his new position Jan. 5, according to Utah Public Information Officer Stephanie Weteling, who confirmed his departure and start date via email. In his new job, Bentley works closely with state CIO Alan Fuller to oversee IT directors and their teams supporting state agencies.
The former CIO spent more than two decades with Salt Lake City, steadily rising through the ranks. Bentley’s LinkedIn profile shows he joined the city in 2001 as a field and network support administrator and later served as software support administrator, software support manager and director of software services. He was named interim CIO in 2018, became chief technology officer in 2019 and was appointed CIO in June 2020.
Following Bentley’s exit, the city moved to name its next CIO — quickly considering Salt Lake County CIO Zach Posner. The state’s most populous county, its county seat is Salt Lake City. During its Tuesday meeting, the City Council examined Posner’s appointment under its Consent Agenda. The item passed with a unanimous vote, affirming his appointment as CIO with no opposition recorded. The process for his succession at the county is unclear.
Posner brings both public- and private-sector technology leadership experience to the role. According to LinkedIn, he has served as CIO for Salt Lake County since July 2017, overseeing more than 100 staff serving approximately 1.3 million residents. His responsibilities included IT strategy, customer service, software development, cybersecurity, analytics and enterprise resource planning systems.
