The Flower Mound Town Council voted unanimously Monday night to appoint Roanoke City Manager Jimmy Stathatos as the new Town Manager of Flower Mound.
Stathatos replaces Harlan Jefferson, whose employment contract was terminated by council on October 8.
The town used the services of Keller-based SGR Executive Search to find candidates.
During the search for the next Flower Mound Town Manager, SGR Executive Search discussed numerous prospective candidates with the council, resulting in a field of eight top applicants. After further discussion, the field was narrowed to three candidates, who were then invited to interview with council members.
“All three finalists are exceptional managers with an outstanding reputation and track record, who are well-known throughout the state,” Mayor Hayden said.
“The Council was confident that any one of the three could be an exceptional Town Manager for the next stage of Flower Mound’s history. We had an incredibly strong group of finalists to select from and were highly impressed with all three.”
One of the factors that tipped the council toward Stathatos was his extensive hands-on experience and track record in economic development, town officials said.
During his nearly 15 year tenure in Roanoke, the city’s tax base grew from $99 million to approximately $1.7 billion and sales tax revenue increased to more than $10 million a year, according to Flower Mound officials.
As City Manager, Stathatos directs and manages Roanoke’s economic development program, which has helped create more than 3,700 new jobs and approximately $1 billion in new development projects including General Motors, Citigroup, and many other Fortune 500 companies. The Texas Economic Development Department recognized Roanoke’s success with its Community Development Award, and the Dallas Business Journal recognized Roanoke twice for “Best Real Estate Deals.”
Roanoke’s population was 5,962 at the 2010 census. Flower Mound had 64,669 residents, according to 2010 Census numbers.
Council members were also impressed with Stathatos’ focus on customer service and creating a citizen-centric town hall culture, one of the council’s top priorities for the new Flower Mound Town Manager. Roanoke was recently recognized with the Texas Municipal League’s prestigious “Municipal Excellence Award,” at the organization’s annual conference.
Mayor Hayden noted that while the town has an incredibly committed group of employees, the new Town Manager will look at all practices, from top to bottom, to ensure town staff are empowered to perform well at every aspect of customer service throughout the organization.
“I assure you that I will come to work each day thinking about how I can have a positive impact on the town,” said Stathatos as he addressed the town council. “I have an open door policy. If there’s something we can do to make things better we look forward to talking to you about it.”
Stathatos is a former Board Member of the Northwest Metroport Chamber of Commerce, where he was recognized with the John Harbin Visionary Award and currently serves as Treasurer of the Metroport Cities Partnership, a coalition of the Cities of Roanoke, Keller, Grapevine, Colleyville, Trophy Club, Westlake, Southlake, and Haslet. He was also selected by the Dallas Business Journal as one of its “Top 40 Under 40.” Stathatos is also an ICMA Credentialed Manager and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of North Texas.
Stathatos will begin his new duties as the Flower Mound Town Manager in January. He and his wife, Ashley, enjoy spending time with their three boys Ben, Parker, and Trevor.