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Matthew Fraser

Matthew Fraser is Chief Technology Officer of the City of New York, serving in the Office of Technology and Innovation and directing the city's technology strategy since taking office under Mayor Eric Adams in January 2022 [1][2]. Born and raised in Brooklyn to parents who immigrated from Guyana, Fraser has described his father's career at the MTA and family tradition of public service, including relatives who served in the military, as formative influences on his decision to pursue government work [2]. He has recounted that he originally viewed a stint in government as a temporary stop en route to the private sector, comparing it to a pit stop in Formula One racing, but found the work of public service unexpectedly fulfilling and stayed [2].

In discussing his approach to the CTO role, Fraser has said his central question upon taking office was not what technology could do for government operations but what it could do to improve life for residents, citing the transformation of private-sector industries such as transportation through companies like Uber and Lyft as a benchmark government had failed to match [2]. He has pointed to the city's broadband access effort, the Internet Master Plan, as an example of the dysfunction he inherited, noting that the program held $157 million allocated two years earlier without a single connection delivered to a New Yorker, and he has linked the urgency of closing this digital divide to the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on remote schooling and work, particularly for public housing residents [2]. He has framed his priority-setting method as identifying the most difficult, high-impact problems facing the city and pursuing those first while looking for further opportunities to modernize government services [2].

Fraser has also spoken about his personal background as a motivational example for young people, telling audiences that he was not an exceptional student and that his career progress came through persistence and determination rather than academic distinction [3]. He has framed his ascent to a senior New York City government post as an illustration of an American success story, describing himself as the child of immigrants who reached a position enabling him to shape the quality of life in the city where his parents settled [2].

Insights & ideas

Matthew Fraser frames his role around a central conviction that technology in government must serve people directly, not just serve government operations, and he points to how industries like transportation were transformed by technology as a model for what government services should aspire to [2]. He argues government has not evolved at the same pace as the private sector in adopting technology to meet people where they are, and he sees closing that gap as his central mission [2]. His perspective is shaped by lived experience as the child of Guyanese immigrants raised in Brooklyn and by a family history of public service, which he says grounds his belief that helping people sits at the intersection of drive and purpose [2]. He also emphasizes a message of resilience, arguing that success does not require being a top student or making perfect decisions, and that grit, hard work, and determination can carry someone from an average upbringing into a position of significant responsibility [1].

Media & appearances

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