Among yesterday’s many high-profile proceedings in the Chicago City Council meeting there was a very big win for Chicago’s future in technology. Mayor Rahm Emmanuel appointed Chief Data Officer Brett Goldstein to be the Commissioner of the City of Chicago Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT), and we’re pleased to announce that City Council approved his appointment.

In his new role as Commissioner of the Department of Innovation and Technology, Goldstein will oversee all of the technical operations of the City. In addition to that, he’s excited to build new relationships and work with Chicago’s thriving digital scene.

Anyone who was at the Moxie Awards can attest to the exciting digital community in our City, and, as Commissioner of DoIT and CDO, Brett is committed to being a part of it all. Whether he’s holding office hours at 1871 or helping developers utilize Chicago’s immense, and open!! data, it’s clear that Brett is here to help the Chicago digital community be the best it can be.

And don’t be mistaken…Brett isn’t new to Chicago, not by a long shot.

His previous job title was Chief Data Officer of the City (a title he still holds), where he was responsible for designing a new platform for and maintaining all of the City’s 200+ datasets at data.cityofchicago.org.  And back in 2008 he founded and later directed the Chicago Police Department’s Predictive Analytics Group, which aims to predict when and where crime will happen. He’s also a former commander for the CPD.

Goldstein, along with Chief Technology Officer John Tolva and Social Media Director Kevin Hauswirth are part of Chicago’s digital trio, not only focused on keeping Chicago transparent, but more importantly on moving Chicago forward.

Before coming to work for the City, Goldstein opened the first market outside of San Francisco for the start-up OpenTable. He helped build seven new markets from ground up, and finished as Director of Information Technology of the company.

Got city data questions or just want to say Congrats? Tweet at Brett @ChicagoCDO!