Biography

Mayor Renard U. Johnson assumed office on January 6, 2025.

Renard is a homegrown local businessman who deeply cares about our City. He grew up on the northeast side of El Paso and graduated from Andress High School and the University of Texas at El Paso. He was named an Andress outstanding ex and was named as a distinguished alumnus from UTEP.

Although Renard came from humble beginnings, El Paso provided him with the education and opportunity to achieve his dreams. He founded METI Inc., one of El Paso’s fastest-growing and most successful companies; providing systems engineering, information technology, and natural resource management support to government and commercial customers worldwide.

Renard has also received numerous awards to include the Minority Business Enterprise of the Year from the United States Department of Commerce: His business was ranked as the 6th fastest growing company in the U.S. by INC. 500 magazine: and Black Enterprise magazine ranked his company as one of the largest black-owned companies in the nation.

In 2020, he founded El Perro Grande Tequila, a company also headquartered in El Paso, Texas, which has received accolades from Forbes Magazine as one of the best tequilas in the world.

Renard has served his community for many years; having served as a former chairman of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a former president and chairman of The Texas Lyceum, a past board member of the El Paso Boys & Girls Club, a former Board member of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, and the former chairman of the Board for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, El Paso Branch. He has also served as a board member of the Hospitals at Providence.

Additionally, he has helped recruit incredible leaders to our city, including serving on the search committees to hire the current UTEP President and the current El Paso Community College President.

Most notably and most important, He is a loving father to his two young daughters and a lifelong resident of El Paso, Texas.