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New York City Data Analytics Czar Moves to Private Sector

Esri, the company known for mapping and analytics, has claimed the City of New York’s Chief Analytics Officer Amen Ra Mashariki for its own.

New York City is down another cabinet-level tech position with the departure of Chief Analytics Officer Amen Ra Mashariki, who has reportedly accepted a job with mapping and data company, Esri.

Mashariki was tapped to lead the New York City Mayor’s Office of Data and Analytics (MODA) in November of 2014 after serving as the chief technology officer (CTO) for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and as a White House fellow.

The office was created in 2013 as part of Executive Order 306, by then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg to help better analyze the wealth of data available to the local government and ultimately improving the services it offers to constituents.

Natalie Grybauskas, a spokesperson with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office, confirmed Mashariki’s departure via email, saying, “We appreciate Amen’s service as Chief Analytics Officer, and his leadership at MODA making the City’s open data more accessible to New Yorkers — and we wish him well on his next steps.”

The spokesperson said MODA Deputy Director for Strategic Management at the Office of Operations James Perazzo would be assuming acting director duties as part of his existing charge. “James will continue in his current role in addition to taking on the acting role. Since James works on similar data-driven projects and Operations oversees MODA, this is a natural fit for the office.”

Last week, Government Technology reported that Chief Digital Officer Sree Sreenivasan had left his post with the de Blasio administration, as it was consolidating the duties of his position under the umbrella of CTO Miguel Gamiño, who was brought on board in October 2016. 

Though Mashariki’s departure from public service comes at a time when the administration’s technology structure is in flux, his decision was not related.

The Esri press office was not able to confirm Mashariki’s official start date, but his last day on the city’s payroll is May 25.

Eyragon Eidam is the web editor for Government Technology magazine, after previously serving as assistant news editor and covering such topics as legislation, social media and public safety. He can be reached at eeidam@erepublic.com.