On the heels of several new and exciting technology initiatives that are making the City of Boston more efficient and user friendly for residents, visitors, and businesses, Mayor Thomas M. Menino today announced the appointment of William G. Oates as the City's Chief Information Officer. In this cabinet-level position, Mr. Oates will be responsible for leveraging the use of technology and information and working to improve the business of government and delivery of services through technology.

"I want to welcome Bill and his new and exciting ideas to my cabinet," Mayor Menino said. "By harnessing the power of information and technology, we are continuing to make the delivery of services to our residents the most efficient and effective that they can be. I am confident that Bill's experience and leadership in IT will help us to achieve our goals."

Mr. Oates, the former Sr. Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Worldwide, Inc., brings with him over 20 years of information technology experience to the city of Boston. In his capacity at Starwood, he had global responsibility for the performance of the company's information technology systems and led dramatic change and improvements in IT services.

"I am confident that my experience in technology management will translate well to the City's needs. Technology continues to change quickly and, like any business, the City needs to be able to adapt and respond," Mr. Oates said. "It's about leading a critical function within the administration. I was looking for challenge that would leverage my experience as a private sector CIO and my commitment to public service. I look at this role as a terrific opportunity to do some great things in the City of Boston".

Mr. Oates joins Mayor Menino and his administration at an exciting time, as the city for leaps forward in information and technology services. The city, through a WiFi Task Force is currently in the midst of investigating how to bring wireless technology to neighborhoods throughout the city. In addition, Mayor Menino is preparing to launch a new state-of-the-art city website this summer, which will help to make city information more accessible to residents, visitors, and businesses. Mayor Menino is also exploring how new GPS and GIS technology can help streamline the delivery of services to residents.

A graduate of Boston College, Mr. Oates received his law degree from Suffolk University Law School and was awarded his LL.M (Masters in Law) in Global Technology Law. Mr. Oates is married with two children.