Cupertino contracts Tina Kapoor as interim city manager in wake of Pamela Wu’s departure

Tina Kapoor was formally confirmed Tuesday as Cupertino’s interim city manager following former city manager Pamela Wu’s sudden departure.

The City Council approved a contract formalizing Kapoor’s position, which she was unanimously appointed to on June 17. She was previously the deputy city manager under Wu.

“I’m honored to be unanimously appointed by the City Council as Interim City Manager,” Kapoor wrote in a statement to this news organization. “I appreciate their trust and look forward to working with Council, staff, and the community to ensure stability and continue moving the city’s priorities forward.”

Kapoor joined the city in 2021, working as an economic development manager in the city manager’s office before becoming deputy city manager in 2023. Prior to Cupertino, she held economic development-related positions in Fremont and San Jose’s city manager’s offices.

“The City is excited to begin this new chapter,” Mayor Liang Chao wrote to this news organization. “Tina’s steady, balanced approach, makes her the ideal choice to lead the City.”

Wu had been unexpectedly put on leave by the City Council in May for undisclosed reasons, then signed a settlement with the city on June 6 and left the position.

Though the city still has not shared a reason for Wu’s departure, the announcement of her leave followed multiple closed session meetings in April regarding Wu’s “performance evaluation.” At the time, Wu told this news organization she was “confused and shocked” about the May vote to put her on leave.

According to city records, Wu’s settlement with the city in June left her with eight months of severance, along with settlement and release payments, that amount to a total of $311,089. The city also agreed to discontinue any alleged investigations into Wu’s tenure, destroy any findings from the investigations and direct the independent investigator to do the same.

The city did not share any additional information on the reason for Wu’s departure in response to an inquiry from this organization. City spokesperson Samantha LoCurto pointed toward press releases available on the city website that announced her leave and settlement.