Brian Platt

Brian Platt is an American public administrator. He was the City Manager of Kansas City, Missouri, United States from December 2020 until the city terminated his contract in March 2025. He had previously worked as the City Administrator for Jersey City, New Jersey.

Raised in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, where graduated from Mountain Lakes High School. He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in philosophy at Emory University, where he competed in track and field.^[1] Platt earned his Master of Public Administration Degree at Columbia University.^[2][3]

His work experience includes management consulting with McKinsey & Company and as a kindergarten teacher with Teach For America.

A protege of Mayor Steve Fulop, Platt served as City Administrator for Jersey City, New Jersey from 2018-2020.^[4] He had served as city's first Chief Innovation Officer and established the city's Office of Innovation in 2015.^[5][6]

Platt began his role as City Manager of Kansas City in December 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic while delivering basic services with a shrinking budget.^[7][6] As manager, Platt oversaw a staff of 4,500 employees providing services to Kansas City's 508,000 residents.^[8][9]

Platt developed a new street maintenance plan that doubled funding for street resurfacing, uses improved technology, and holds contractors accountable when they dig into streets.^[10] The city is now resurfacing more than 3.5 times the historic average and broke 500 lane miles of resurfacing in fiscal year 2024. He created a 24-hour snow removal strategy that added plows for residential streets and increased salting.^[11]

He launched the Vision Zero Campaign, with the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2030 by improving high-risk intersections and adding 30 miles (48 km) of protected bike lanes in the first 18 months alone.^[12][13]

Platt is worked towards a more inclusive workplace by creating the Chief Equity Officer position, installing all-gender bathrooms, negotiating a new union contract with the Kansas City Fire Department that works to end past discriminatory practices, and investing in staff training, recruitment, and development.^[14][15][16]

Platt's proposed building the largest city-owned solar farm in the country at Kansas City International Airport.^{[17][18][19][20]} His other goals include developing new sustainability initiatives to reduce waste, energy usage, and dependence on fossil fuels,^[21] creating programs to produce more affordable housing and to address homelessness,^[11] and finding new ways to leverage technology to improve city services.^[6]

In 2024, Platt was a finalist for the position of City Manager of Austin, Texas, but withdrew from consideration,^[22] and the Kansas City Council subsequently extended his contract to August 1, 2027.^[23] On March 27, 2025, the Council voted to terminate his contract.^[24] In November 2025, two financial agreements were reached between Platt and the city.^[25][26] Mario Vasquez replaced Platt in May 2025.