LYNN — After nearly two decades working behind the scenes at the Boston Globe and in the private tech sector, Lynn native Michael Kwiatek has returned to his hometown in a new role: director of information technology for the City of Lynn.
The Gardner Street native brings a combination of hands-on technical expertise, institutional experience, and a deep connection to the community. His second day on the job was already filled with department introductions and discussions about improving cybersecurity across City Hall.
“People may judge me by my character,” he said. “I think I’m a good guy — and I’ll do everything I can to help people here. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll find one.”
His journey to IT leadership wasn’t traditional. He grew up attending Lincoln Elementary (now Thompson), Breed Middle School, and later Masconomet High School through a school choice program. After a brief stint in nursing school and time working at Union Hospital as a certified nursing assistant, he pivoted into the world of technology thanks to an intensive training program at Boston University’s Corporate Education Center.
“That’s where it all clicked,” he said. “It was eight hours a day, five days a week. I fell in love with it from day one.”
He was recruited straight from the program to the Boston Globe, where he spent 18 years helping the newsroom and pressroom navigate dramatic technological shifts — from legacy terminals and physical plates to the digital-first transition and the launch of BostonGlobe.com.
While he wasn’t writing code for the front end, he played a key role in managing backend data feeds, including content from Reuters and Getty Images, and ensuring stories and images were published smoothly online.
“Seeing the daily miracle come together — the story writing, the press runs, the website — gave me a front-row seat to how information gets made,” he said.
From there, he took on a director of IT role at DMB Financial in Beverly, a smaller firm that gave him wide-ranging responsibilities — from migrating users to Office 365 and improving phishing protections to modernizing phone systems and creating company-wide security protocols.
That experience will come in handy in Lynn, which recently completed its own cloud migration. Early cybersecurity concerns — including recent phishing attempts targeting city staff — are top of mind.
“There’s still work to do to ensure we’re secure,” he said. “I need to evaluate where the vulnerabilities are and figure out how we protect resident data.”
Although he’s only just started, he’s planning to meet with every department head, learn their systems, and find ways to improve efficiency while fortifying digital defenses.
The return to City Hall is also a full-circle moment. His wife, Dawn Kwiatek, a City Hall employee, works in internal auditing. Though they’ll be just a few floors apart, the IT director emphasized that she had no involvement in his hiring process.
“I wanted to make sure that was clear,” he said. “I applied on my own — this is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
His decision came with a pay cut from the private sector, but he sees it as a chance to give back to the city that raised him. His father, a well-known community volunteer and longtime food pantry worker, set the tone.
“He’s always been giving back,” he said. “If I can do even half of what he’s done for this community, I’ll be doing alright.”
With a calm demeanor and a measured understanding of the rapidly evolving tech world, he’s also watching the role of artificial intelligence with cautious optimism.
“There’s a lot of power in the tools we use now, but with that comes a responsibility,” he said. “It’s not just about what tech can do — it’s about what we choose to do with it.”
Though his first days are filled with password resets and account access requests, he’s keeping a wide lens.
“This job is about more than fixing things,” he said. “It’s about building trust within the community and surrounding departments — one connection at a time.”
