Sreenath Sreenivasan appointed chief digital officer of New York City

Sreenath (Sree) Sreenivasan, an eminent Indian-American digital media expert and son of a former Indian diplomat T P Sreenivasan, has been named as the New York City's new chief digital officer.

New York mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday announced the appointment of Sree Sreenivasan as the City's new chief digital officer. Sree Sreenivasan has served as the first chief digital officer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the first chief digital officer of Columbia University.

He was also a mayoral appointee on the Commission on Public Information and Communication (COPIC) since October 2015, where he assisted the public in obtaining access to city information, and helped develop strategies for the use of new communications technologies to improve access to, and distribution of city data.

As chief digital officer, Sreenivasan will work to increase access to city-led technology initiatives, focus on outreach to the tech community, and direct citywide digital policy. He will begin his new role this fall, a release from the Mayor's office stated.

''To move our city's digital ecosystem into the 21st century, we need to ensure our city's resources are at the fingertips of every New Yorker. With Sree Sreenivasan's wealth of experience, I am confident that he will work to promote transparency, access, and progressive values with our digital tools, helping spread access across the five boroughs,'' said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

''It's a real honor for me to serve as the CDO of the world's greatest city,'' said Chief Digital Officer Sree Sreenivasan. ''There are so many opportunities to extend the Mayor's Digital Playbook, collaborate closely across various sectors and help bring more startups here. I will draw on what I've learned working in four critical NYC areas - education, media, arts and culture, and nonprofits, and look forward to building on the great work of my predecessor Jessica Singleton and her predecessor, Rachel Haot.''

In his new role, Sreenivasan will direct the office of digital strategy (NYC Digital) to launch digital products that encourage civic engagement, increase government transparency, and support New York City's thriving tech ecosystem. The chief digital officer reports to the deputy mayor for housing and economic development, Alicia Glen, the release from the Moyor's Office stated.

Sreenivasan spent 20 years as a member of faculty of the Columbia Journalism School and a year as Columbia University's first Chief Digital Officer. He was a founding member and contributing editor at neighborhood news site DNAinfo, and throughout his career, he has written for various publications, including the New York Times, and was a popular technology reporter on WABC-TV, WNBC-TV and WCBS-TV.

An immigrant from India, Sreenivasan was born in Japan and lived in Bhutan, the former Soviet Union, New York City, Myanmar, India and Fiji before receiving a Bachelor's degree in History from St. Stephen's College in Delhi and a Master's degree in Journalism from Columbia University in 1993. He is a graduate of PS 6 in Manhattan and also attended St Joseph's of Yorkville. He and his wife, Roopa Unnikrishnan, a Rhodes Scholar and innovation consultant, live in Manhattan and have twin children who study in a NYC public school.