Randy Macchi was appointed by Mayor John Whitmire to replace Carol Haddock, who retired earlier this year. Macchi has been with Houston Public Works since March 2023 as their chief operating officer. He's been in an expanded role with the department working with city engineer Richard Smith since April.

Macchi takes over a department with nearly 4,000 employees, the third largest in the city, at a time when Public Works is aiming to improve its reputation.

Houston City Council changed the law to allow Randy Macchi to head Public Works, the city's largest department at nearly 3,900 employees.

Mayor John Whitmire has appointed Randy Macchi as the new Director of Houston Public Works, the largest accredited public works agency in the country. Macchi, who has

HOUSTON – Mayor John Whitmire has named the new director of Houston Public Works (HPW). Randy Macchi was appointed to lead HPW as its next Director. The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported.

Mayor John Whitmire received a written rebuke from a national engineering group over plans to change city ordinance to no longer require an engineer to head Houston Public Works, according to a letter obtained by the Chronicle.

The director position at the city’s infrastructure department can only be held by a licensed engineer. Whitmire’s pick, Randall Macchi, has experience as an attorney and leadership coach — and as chief operating officer of HPW — but he’s not an engineer.