On 9 May 2013, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Ms. Atefeh Riazi, a United States national born in Iran, as Chief Information Technology Officer, Assistant Secretary-General, Office of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Management.

Ms. Riazi brings with her wide-ranging experience in the public and private sector, with a focus on leading complex organizational change involving large departments in challenging environments to deliver vital business transformation through the use of innovation and technology.

She started her professional career with the Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York City. During a period of 16 years, she held various progressively responsible positions and was appointed as the Chief Information Officer, responsible for replacing the out-dated token system and implementing the MetroCard in New York City.

Later, Ms. Riazi served as Chief Information Officer of New York City Housing Authority with oversight responsibilities for design and deployment of smart building technologies and cost containment practices. She also served as the Acting General Manager with responsibility for all operations. Prior to joining the Housing Authority, she was global Chief Information Officer and Senior Partner of Ogilvy and Mather overseeing technology, applications, networks and data centres.