San Diego Hires A Chief Data Officer

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LOS ANGELES — San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer appointed a chief data officer with the aim of making the city more transparent, efficient and innovative.

Maksim Pecherskiy, expected to start work Nov. 24, will be assigned to the city's Performance and Analytics Department where he will work on the new Open Data Initiative.

Pecherskiy spent the past year working as a Code for America Fellow in Puerto Rico on a team that developed a product called Primer Peso that helped businesses and residents identify government programs for which they might be eligible. Prior to that, he worked as a solutions architect at Promet Source where he built large web systems and led international development teams.

In addition to increased transparency, Faulconer said in a release, that the initiative is intended to use technology to improve operations and enhance customer service.

San Diego joins other cities across the county using technology to upgrade sometimes antiquated municipal systems to make them more user-friendly for residents.

"Maksim is a perfect fit for the role of chief data officer," Faulconer said. "He will use public data and technology to help government make data-driven decisions and improve service delivery to our residents."

Faulconer said he supported the move to open data as a councilman and looks forward to continuing those efforts as mayor.

"I am looking forward to working with my city colleagues, as well as the technology, education and civic communities in San Diego, to help harness the power of data and technology for positive change," Pecherskiy said.

The initiative involves sharing information with local startup internet application developers to identify ways to use the data to improve the lives of San Diegans, according to the mayor's office.

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