City of Goodyear City Manager Recruitment Advances to Three Final Candidates

The city of Goodyear's national search for its next city manager has advanced to the final stage, with three highly qualified candidates selected to move forward in the recruitment process.

The search, conducted with the assistance of executive recruitment firm WBCP, began with 205 applicants from across the country, a number significantly higher than average for cities of comparable size. From that pool, the candidates were narrowed to more than 40 individuals who were considered well-qualified to exceptionally qualified for the position. Following an extensive review process, the Goodyear City Council identified six top candidates, and the recruitment has now progressed to the final three finalists.

The finalists are:

Kini Knudson: Interim City Manager, City of Goodyear

Kini Knudson currently serves as Interim City Manager for the City of Goodyear and previously served as the city's Deputy City Manager, where he oversaw multiple departments and led major development and infrastructure initiatives for one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation.

Prior to joining Goodyear, Knudson spent more than two decades with the city of Phoenix, including serving as Director of Street Transportation, where he led a department of approximately 750 employees responsible for planning, design, construction and maintenance of the city's nearly 5,000-mile street network. He managed an annual $125 million operating budget and a $950 million five-year capital improvement program, while also advancing major initiatives such as Phoenix's Vision Zero Road Safety Action Plan and securing $50 million in competitive federal grants.

Knudson holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Arizona, a Master of Business Administration from Arizona State University, and is a registered professional engineer in Arizona. He also served as an officer in the United States Navy Civil Engineer Corps, with assignments in Spain and Washington, D.C.

Bryan Langley: City Manager, City of Kyle, Texas

Bryan Langley currently serves as City Manager for the city of Kyle, Texas, a rapidly growing community of approximately 70,000 residents. In this role, he leads about 500 employees, oversees an annual budget exceeding $600 million, and manages a $1.3 billion five-year capital improvement program.

Langley brings more than 25 years of municipal leadership experience, including prior service as City Manager for the city of Burleson, Texas and Deputy City Manager/Chief Operating Officer for the city of Denton, Texas, where he helped oversee an organization of roughly 1,800 employees and a $1.3 billion annual budget.

Throughout his career, Langley has led large-scale infrastructure programs, strengthened financial performance, and advanced major economic development initiatives while building high-performing organizational cultures.

Jacob Ellis: City Manager, City of Corona, California

Jacob Ellis currently serves as City Manager for the city of Corona, California, a full-service city of approximately 168,000 residents. In that role, he leads about 950 employees and oversees more than $700 million in financial commitments, including a $424.6 million operating budget and a $302 million capital improvement program.

Ellis previously served as Deputy Town Manager for the Town of Gilbert, Arizona, one of the nation's fastest-growing communities, where he helped manage an organization of more than 1,300 employees with an annual budget exceeding $1 billion and led major initiatives related to economic development, infrastructure, and organizational culture.

He holds a Juris Doctor from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, a Master of Public Administration from Cleveland State University, and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Brigham Young University.

Wendi Brown, President and CEO of WBCP, the company leading the recruitment efforts said, ""Throughout the recruitment process, we consistently heard from candidates that Arizona - and particularly Goodyear - is an exciting place to lead right now. With only about 15-percent of the community built out, there is tremendous opportunity to shape the future of a growing city while maintaining the high quality of life residents value."

The recruitment process has included community input and participation from a committee of stakeholders, helping ensure a thorough and transparent process that reflects the priorities of residents and the organization. It was a priority to include the voice of the community through surveys which were distributed to residents and city staff to gather input on the qualities and leadership attributes most important in the next city manager. The feedback helped inform the ideal candidate profile and reinforced strong alignment between the priorities identified by the community, staff, and the city council.

The Goodyear City Council will continue the selection process with another round of final interviews later in March, after which the Council is expected to make a final decision on the city's next city manager.

The city will continue to provide updates as the recruitment process progresses.