Attorney named as DeKalb CEO chief of staff

DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis has named a well-known Atlanta attorney to become his new chief of staff.

Hakim Hilliard will earn $185,000 a year when he takes over the job of coordinating the CEO’s office on Oct. 1. He replaces Jabari Simama, who left the post Sept. 1 to become president of Georgia Piedmont Technical College.

Hilliard is an attorney with McKenna Long & Aldridge, specializing in state and local legal issues such as zoning, procurement and public-private partnerships. He also previously served as an assistant city attorney in Atlanta.