The first Digital Officer of New York City. Leading the private-public partnership of digital services to improve the lives of the city’s citizens. Rachel S. Haot is the Chief Digital Officer and Deputy Secretary of Technology for New York State, part of Governor Cuomo’s administration. Prior to this role, Rachel served as Chief Digital Officer for the City of New York for three years under Mayor Bloomberg, from January 2011 to December 2013. At the City, she charted policy for technology and innovation in New York City, reflected in the City’s digital roadmap, completed October 2013. Major milestones included the overhaul and responsive design relaunch of official City website nyc.gov, which serves over 35 million unique visitors annually; tripling the City’s social media audience to nearly four million; hosting the first hackathons in municipal government in the U.S. to collaboratively shape urban planning and launching the tech sector initiative and marketing campaign We Are Made in NY, which supports New York City’s burgeoning digital industry. Before her role with the City, Rachel served as founder and CEO of GroundReport, one of the earliest global citizen journalism platforms, from 2006 to 2010. She also launched and ran Upward, a digital strategy consultancy, taught as a Columbia Business School adjunct professor and worked in business development for the consumer web industry. Rachel is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and digital advisory board member for Women@NBCU. She has been named a ‘40 Under 40’ leader by Crain’s, Forbes and Fortune.

Daniel Stark is the owner and creative director of Stark Design, a company that services the fashion, beauty, luxury goods and consumer products industries through holistic strategy, memorable communications and beautiful design. Daniel is also the founder and creative director of PaperMade, maker of easy paper craft books for kids and adults.  

Transforming New York’s East River; +Pool flips the model for civic projects

In a modern fusion of designers and engineers, New York’s MoMA has added electronics-infused pieces to its collection