Mayor Paul Young’s leadership team received a midterm shakeup with the approvals of a pair of new city division heads.
New chief financial officer Art Davis and chief accounting officer Chris Winton can get right to work, after the Memphis City Council members unanimously approved their appointments during the July 21 meeting.
Young called both appointees “incredible” leaders.” The shuffle follows the departure of erstwhile CFO Walter Person and CAO Antonio Adams. Both were holdovers from former mayor Jim Strickland’s administration.
Davis’ promotion follows a seven-month stint as the city’s deputy chief financial officer of the treasury. He will shepherd the city’s financial operations. His new responsibilities run from budgeting, accounting, procurement and long-term fiscal planning to overseeing his old co-workers at the financial bureau.
Before joining the city, Davis served as COO and CFO for Memphis River Parks Partnership. He helped lead the nonprofit from 2019-2025. This includes the $61 million redevelopment of Tom Lee Park, a 30-acre green space that runs parallel the Mississippi River near Downtown.
“My resume speaks for itself. It says who I am and where I’ve been. But the past isn’t really important today. What’s important today is what am I going to do moving forward,” said Davis.
Following transparency, the second bullet point on the list was building up “financial structure” of the agency he is tasked to lead. Finally, he will ensure that taxpayer dollars “entrusted to us” is “handled responsibly.”
“My goal will be to support the mayor, the council, but most importantly to support the citizens of Memphis,” said Davis.
Davis also served as director of finance for the Liberty Bowl Stadium. His work history also features leadership roles with the Memphis Redbirds and the Children’s Museum of Memphis.
“Art has been with us for a number of years in our treasury department, but I’ve known him for years as he worked with MRPP and handled operations and finance there. Incredible leader, I’ve enjoyed working with him,” said Young.
Winton enters city government from a career in the private sector. The former corporate vice president and chief people officer began working at FedEx 25 years ago. Hired as an intern, Winton rose through the ranks in the information technology department before joining human resources.
In 2024, he was hired as senior VP of human resources for cable giant Comcast’s Central Division. His role included implementing culture-building strategies and talent recruitment infrastructure for the 13,000-employee division.
The native Memphian has also worked for electric automaker Tesla. Winton also consulted the President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden administrations on workforce development and developing road maps to success for under-resourced communities.
“He’s a great asset to our city. I’m looking forward to working with him and seeing his leadership. Most importantly, I think he’s going to be great for our division directors …,” complimented Young.
As CAO, Winton’s responsibilities will range from department oversight, financial management and personnel staffing to the liaison between the administration and other elected bodies.
“The mayor challenged me to help deliver results and deliver more. So with your support, I am ready to do so,” said Winton. “So when I’ve had an opportunity to meet with many of you one-on-one, talk with constituents in our community, as well as meet with leaders here in city hall, the common denominator is clear: There is a deep love for this city and we can do more.”
Davis and Winton join Young’s leadership at a time when the city maintains a strong credit rating, but grapples with structural deficits and low cash reserves. In late June, the council passed a flat $900 million budget after weeks of debate over public safety and city employee compensation. The property tax rate remained also unchanged at $3.39.
Airport authority appointments
Council members also approved Young’s appointments of Belinda Anderson, Pamela Clary and Demar Roberts to the 9-member Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority.
In April, Gov. Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 2473, which dissolved the previous seven-member board. The law establishes eligibility requirements, and prohibits members from having a financial stake in an airport or concessions while serving on MSCAA.
The rest of the board is composed of appointments by Lee, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton. Each lawmaker appoints two members apiece. All three are Republicans.
In addition to the Memphis International Airport, the MSCAA oversees the operations at General DeWitt Spain Airport near Downtown and Charles W. Baker Airport in Millington. Both civil airports are publicly owned.
