According to Mayor Knox White, Castile's promotion to City Manager not only represents City Council's commitment to continuity within the organization, but is also a reward for outstanding performance. "John exemplifies the core values of the City of Greenville, especially in his demonstrated skill of working in partnership for economic development and neighborhood improvement," said White. "He understands the goals of City Council and possesses the outstanding leadership skills to implement those goals."

Castile was promoted to Deputy City Manager in May 2006, at which time he was given direct supervision and oversight over all City department heads and the authority to act on behalf of or in conjunction with the City Manager. In addition to exercising responsibility in the City's day-to-day operations, Castile also became directly involved in making policy recommendations to City Council, interpreting and applying policies established by City Council and developing and implementing administrative policies for the City.

According to White, Castile has played an integral role in a variety of complex, high-profile projects over the past few years and his knowledge and skills have been instrumental in fulfilling the City's goals and objectives. "John is a problem-solver," said White. "He makes decisions based on the merits, after listening to all points of view, and he makes the decision promptly."

Originally from Columbia, SC, Castile moved to Greenville in 1984 when he accepted a full scholarship to play basketball at Furman University. He was a four-year starter, served as team co-captain his sophomore year and served as team captain his junior and senior years. In 1987, Castile was selected to the All Southern Conference Second Team and in 1988, was unanimously selected to the All Southern Conference First Team and finished second as Conference Player of the Year. Castile graduated from Furman in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.

After graduating from Furman, he chose to stay in Greenville, and over the next few years held management positions at BI-LO, Inc., where he served as an assistant store manager, and at the Greenville News, where he served as a district manager in the Circulations Department. He also worked as a project manager for Sunbelt Human Advancement Resources (SHARE) administering numerous federal and state grants for underserved communities in Greenville County and Anderson County.

Castile first came to work for the City of Greenville in June 1995 and worked in the Recreation Division until May 1999 when he left the City to serve as Executive Director of Within Reach, a non-profit organization originally developed to implement a $5 million drug-elimination program grant secured by the City to address drugs in its at-risk communities. In September 1999, he was recruited back to the City of Greenville by then City Manager, Steve Thompson, who had identified the City's need to create a high-level position that could provide problem-solving across the entire organization and could manage city-wide projects versus individual department-driven projects.

His role as Assistant to the City Manager included serving as the point of contact for City Council members and developing a strategy to receive, address and effectively track constituent requests/complaints. Thompson also tapped Castile's extensive experience in community and relationship-building to further formalize the City's relationship with neighborhoods and neighborhood associations. According to Felsie Harris, president of the Haynie-Sirrine Neighborhood Association, Castile's straightforwardness and willingness to work to find solutions were immediately apparent, as was his ability to balance individual neighborhoods' needs with the City's overall goals and objectives. "I've had the pleasure of knowing and working with John for almost 10 years now," said Harris. "And I know I speak for a lot of people in the community when I say how proud I am that City Council recognized what a valuable asset John is and is finally giving him the opportunity to lead the City."

In July 2003, then Interim City Manager, Ron McKinney, promoted Castile to Assistant City Manager to provide stability to the City's executive office and to address the City's need to have someone not in an appointed position who could help navigate the organization through transitions between appointed and elected positions. As Assistant City Manager, he provided direction to department heads and had the authority to serve in the capacity of the City Manager in his absence. At this time, Castile also assumed responsibility for working directly with the City's finance director and with all departments to prepare the City's annual budget and to ensure that the budget was properly aligned with City Council goals and objectives.

Since returning to the City almost 11 years ago, Castile has been a key player in the organization and has played a significant role in the City's achievements. He has served as the City's lead on a number of high-profile public-private partnerships, including Fluor Field, the Kroc Center, the A.J. Whittenberg School and Main at Broad.

According to Bob Hughes, President of Hughes Development Corporation, in today's economy it is critical that a city not lose any edge, and Castile's appointment as City Manager means that there will be no learning curve and no lost momentum. "In my experience, John has always taken a business-like approach to challenges and has always been focused on what is best for the city," said Hughes. "Not only that, John clearly knows and loves Greenville, so there's no convincing to be done in that regard."

(Image provided by the City of Greenville.)

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