Chris Vein & Tim O'Reilly: City Data

Called San Francisco’s “tech zeitgeist” by Computerworld Magazine, Chris Vein is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the City and County of San Francisco (City). In this role, he is responsible for setting the City’s technology vision and direction, ensuring the development and implementation of Citywide standards, policies, and procedures, and running the technology “utility” department providing enterprise services to the City with its 28,000 employees, 52 departments, and $6.5 billion annual budget.

In his tenure as CIO, Chris has led the City in becoming a national force in the application of new media platforms, use of open source applications, creation of new models for expanding digital inclusion, emphasizing “green” technology, and transforming government.

In 2010, Chris was named to Government Technology Magazine’s Top 25: Dreamers, Doers, and Drivers. Last year, Chris was named to the top 50 public section CIOs by InformationWeek Magazine and was honored as the Community Broadband Visionary of the Year by the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. Chris has been quoted in a wide range of news sources from the Economist Magazine to his hometown paper, the Grand Forks Herald.

In past work lives, Chris has worked in the public sector at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), for the American Psychological Association, and in a nonpolitical role, at the White House supporting three Presidents of the United States. In his spare time, Chris is a voracious reader, pretty darn good cook, and sometimes mentor.

Tim O’Reilly is the founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media, Inc., thought by many to be the best computer book publisher in the world. O’Reilly Media also hosts conferences on technology topics, including the O’Reilly Open Source Convention, the Web 2.0 Summit, and the Gov 2.0 Summit. Tim’s blog, the O’Reilly Radar “watches the alpha geeks” to determine emerging technology trends, and serves as a platform for advocacy about issues of importance to the technical community. Tim is on the boards of CollabNet, Safari Books Online, and Code for America.

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