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NYC Hires New DoITT Commissioner

The city's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications announced that Anne Roest is the permanent replacement for acting agency commissioner Evan Hines.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on May 6 the appointment of a new commissioner for the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT): Anne Roest will replace Acting Commissioner Evan Hines. Hines stepped in for Rahul Merchant, who was appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2012.

As commissioner, Roest will be responsible for maintaining the city’s foundational IT infrastructure and overseeing the deployment of new projects such as an expanding network of citywide Wi-Fi hotspots.

“I am honored to be joining the de Blasio administration and look forward to helping drive the mayor’s technology agenda," Roest said in a press release, adding that as the central technology services agency, DoITT has an opportunity and responsibility to help government improve the availability and efficiency of key public services, and to build on the foundation of transparency and openness of our data. “I look forward to partnering with the city’s technology sector, working together to develop strategies that drive innovation, and create opportunities for New York technology firms,” she said.

Roest joined the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance in 1986, and for more than 15 years held the position of IT director and project director for the agency. In 2005, Roest was appointed as CIO and deputy commissioner at the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. In 2012, she was appointed public safety cluster CIO at the New York State Office of Information Technology Services.

“Anne represents so much of what is great about our technology sector," de Blasio said in a press release. "From her early days as a COBOL programmer at Fidelity Investments to her recent work overseeing IT operations across all of the state’s public safety operations, she’s risen up through the ladders through hard work, vision and steadfast leadership. I’m thrilled to have Anne as part of our technology team as we look to build a more transparent and accessible government for all New Yorkers.”

Colin wrote for Government Technology and Emergency Management from 2010 through most of 2016.