Governor Ducey announces retirement of Director David Briant
Guided agency through successful three-year transformation
Governor Doug Ducey today announced that David Briant, Director of the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR), will retire at the end of the month, after 31 years of distinguished service to the State of Arizona. Director Briant led the Department of Revenue for the past three years and served under seven governors during his career.
“David has served a long and respectable career, with a commitment to serving the people of Arizona,” said Governor Doug Ducey. “David’s dedication to customer service and continuous improvement combined with his business finance experience were key in leading the Department of Revenue through a successful period of change.”
“It has been a distinct honor to lead the Department of Revenue and I thank Governor Ducey for this opportunity. I am so very proud that over the past three years, ADOR has gone through a transformation with the mission of ‘Serving Taxpayers!’ and the vision of funding Arizona’s future through excellence in innovation, customer service and continuous improvement,” said Director Briant, who noted that by using staff and customer ideas to identify new ways to deliver better, faster and more cost-effective service for Arizonans, the Department of Revenue processed 6.4 million tax documents and collected a record $17.9 billion for programs and services in the state in fiscal year 2018.
"My sincere thanks also goes to department employees for their dedication and willingness to better serve taxpayers in Arizona. Without the capable work of ADOR staff none of these improvements would be a reality. They are a dedicated group of public servants,” added Director Briant.
With a public service career spanning more than three decades at the Departments of Revenue, Environmental Quality, Transportation and Health Services, Director Briant brought a lifetime’s worth of accumulated knowledge and experience to ADOR, including as business and finance director at the Department of Environmental Quality. Under his leadership, the agency has completed several key milestones, including the completion of transaction privilege tax reform, enhanced electronic filing for taxpayers, increased department efficiencies, a dramatic reduction in call center wait times, and expanded front-end taxpayer education, awareness and customer service. With Director Briant’s passion for continuous improvement, ADOR employees are focused on delivering customer value and vital mission outcomes.
Current Chief Deputy Director Carlton Woodruff has been named interim director, effective December 1.
Carlton Woodruff brings more than 20 years of experience in state government finance. Carlton has been the Chief Deputy Director of the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) since October 2015, where he oversees the Education and Compliance, and Processing Divisions for the agency, which administers the State of Arizona’s comprehensive tax system.
Prior to ADOR, Mr. Woodruff served as deputy state treasurer and assistant deputy treasurer in the Office of the Arizona State Treasurer from 2009 to 2015. He also worked in the State Treasurer’s Office from 1991 until 2005. From 2005 until 2009, he was finance director for the Town of Clarkdale, Arizona.
Born in Prescott, Arizona, Carlton received his degree in accounting from Missouri State University.