Rachel Haot
Rachel Haot (née Sterne) is an American businesswoman and entrepreneur who currently serves as the Chief Digital Officer and Deputy Secretary for Technology of New York State.[1] Prior to this role, Rachel served as Chief Digital Officer for the City of New York for three years under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, from January 2011 to December 2013.[2][3]
Early Life and Education
A lifelong New Yorker, Rachel attended Dobbs Ferry High School and graduated magna cum laude from New York University with a B.A. in History.
Career
From 2006 to 2010, Haot founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of GroundReport, a global crowdsourced news startup.[4] In 2008, Haot founded digital strategy consulting firm Upward, and later served as an adjunct professor of Social Media and Entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School.[5] She has been named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum,[6] and Chief Digital Officer of the Year in 2014 by the CDO Summit[7]. She has been recognized as a "30 Under 30" leader by Fortune [8] and Forbes,[9] and was honored at the City and State Above & Beyond Awards in 2015.[10]
In 2011, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg named Haot to the post of Chief Digital Officer. Her responsibilities included the development and multi-stakeholder execution of the New York City's Digital Roadmap. The Digital Roadmap was a plan unveiled in May 2011 to realize the City's digital potential for all New Yorkers, spanning 40 initiatives across the areas of Internet connectivity, STEM education, Open Government and big data, online engagement and technology industry support. In October 2013, Mayor Bloomberg and Haot announced that 100% of initiatives had been completed.[11]
Haot was interviewed by WNYC in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, where she detailed the efforts her office was undertaking to bring the city back to its feet from a digital infrastructure standpoint, especially in Lower Manhattan.[12] In addition to the City's first official hackathon, Reinvent NYC.GOV,[13] Haot's office hosted the Reinvent Payphones Design Challenge, a competition to promote the re-purposing of New York City’s public pay telephones for the digital age, which garnered over 100 submissions from design firms and universities.[14][15] In February 2013, Haot and Mayor Bloomberg introduced We Are Made in NY,[16] an economic development initiative to support tech sector growth in New York City.[17]
Haot's largest project at the City of New York was leading the redesign and rearchitecture of official website nyc.gov. The fully responsive platform enhanced the online customer services capabilities of 3-1-1 and was positively received by the public and media.[18]
In her State role, Haot has similarly focused on digital tools, content and programs. Haot led the relaunch of State website ny.gov in November 2014, overhauling design and architecture. The update was the first major change in over 15 years, and emphasizes customer service, mobile access and location-based resources.[19] Haot's team is also responsible for digital content production and social media engagement.[20]
In March 2015, Haot appeared on NY1 to highlight the Governor's $500 million universal broadband program, which was later passed by the legislature.[21]
Personal life
Haot was born in Manhattan, and grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn and Dobbs Ferry, New York.[22] Rachel lives in Brooklyn with her husband Max Haot, a Belgian-American who is the founder of Livestream, and their son.[23]
References
- ^ Kaplan, Thomas (18 December 2013). "Cuomo Hires New York City's Chief Digital Officer". The New York Times.
- ^ "About NYC Digital". Office of Media and Entertainment, NY City. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ Paybarah, Azi (January 25, 2011). "The Woman Upgrading Bloomberg's Government: Rachel Sterne". WNYC. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ "Rachel Haot". Open Government Partnership. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ "Columbia Business School Directory : Fac Staff Detail : Rachel Sterne". Columbia Business School. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ "List of 2012 Young Global Leaders Honourees" (PDF). World Economic Forum. July 20, 2012. p. 11. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ http://cdoclub.com/rachel-s-haot-chief-digital-officer-for-new-york-state-to-keynote-at-the-cdo-summit-april-22-23-at-time-warner-in-nyc/
- ^ Roberts, Daniel (19 September 2013). "40 under 40". Fortune. Fortune. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
- ^ Howard, Caroline; Michael Noer (December 17, 2012). "Rachel Haot - 30 Under 30: Law & Policy- Forbes". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ http://www.cityandstateny.com/2/city-and-state-announces-above-and-beyond-winners.html#.VV9W20_BwXA
- ^ http://techpresident.com/news/24445/bloombergs-final-digital-roadmap-sets-stage-successor
- ^ Zomorodi, Manoush (November 6, 2012). "New York City's Tech Sector Recovers After Sandy". New Tech City. WNYC. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ http://www.nyc.gov/html/digital/html/opengov/reinventnycgov.shtml
- ^ "Mayor Bloomberg, Chief Information & Innovation Officer Merchant and Chief Digital Officer Haot Launch Reinvent". IndyMetro. December 5, 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ "MAYOR BLOOMBERG, CHIEF INFORMATION & INNOVATION OFFICER MERCHANT AND CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER HAOT LAUNCH REINVENT PAYPHONES DESIGN CHALLENGE". Office of the Mayor, New York City. December 4, 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ We Are Made in NY
- ^ http://pandodaily.com/2013/02/19/bloombergs-parting-gift-to-nyc-tech-an-online-hub-to-make-doing-tech-in-ny-easier/
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/nyregion/new-york-citys-internet-site-gets-a-user-friendly-update.html
- ^ http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-state-website-gets-a-reboot-1415848390
- ^ http://www.fastcompany.com/3038491/inside-nygovs-first-redesign-in-15-years
- ^ http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/inside-city-hall/2015/03/18/ny1-online--state-official-talks-governor-s-proposal-to-expand-broadband-to-underserved-areas.html
- ^ Green, Adam; Sebastian Kim (October 25, 2011). "Tech Savvy: Rachel Sterne". Vogue. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ^ "Rachel Gorelick Sterne and Maxime Haot". Weddings/Celebrations. The New York Times. July 22, 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2013.