Cordell Schachter

Activist, Public servant, Technologist

Cordell Schachter served as Chief Information Officer of the U.S. Department of Transportation 2021-2025. He’s currently CIO Advisor for Cybersecurity, Intelligent Transportation, Workforce, and Modernization for Riverdale Advisors, LLC. Cordell served in a similar capacity for New York City’s Department of Transportation as Chief Technology Officer/CIO 2008-2021. At US DOT CIO Cordell served as principal advisor to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and to the leadership of DOT’s nine Operating Administrations on matters involving information technology and information assurance including cybersecurity and privacy. He led DOT’s Office of the Chief Information Officer and its teams and staff responsible for the projects and services required to meet DOT’s strategic goals and mission overseeing the Department’s IT portfolio and its $3.5 billion in annual spending “to deliver the world’s leading transportation system, serving the American people and economy through the safe, efficient, sustainable, and equitable movement of people and goods.” Previously, Cordell served in local government as New York City Department of Transportation’s Chief Technology Officer and CIO for over 13 years and served in NYC government for a total of 26 years in a variety of roles. He led NYC DOT teams to innovate services and improve accessibility of New York City's physical infrastructure of roads, bridges, sidewalks, and transportation technologies, and to launch new mobility such as Bike Share and e-Scooter Share. The teams also improved NYC’s virtual infrastructure of digital services for traffic management, inspections, permitting, mapping, data, communications, and economic development. Cordell also worked in leadership positions at several IT companies and was elected to NYC’s largest community school board overseeing 50,000 K-8 students, serving as president and secretary. He taught in graduate schools at NYU and at Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City, NJ. He’s is a certified project manager and holds an MS in Management from NYU's Wagner School of Public Service, and a BA in Economics from SUNY Buffalo. He served on the board of directors of ITS America, served on Hunter College’s Computer Science Advisory Board, and serves on SUNY Buffalo’s College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Advisory Council.

Addressing the importance of rules based civil society that provides level playing fields for competition among ideas, products, and expansion of human understanding. A civil society also guards human rights and basic needs for societies and their people who get out-competed.

Cybersecurity = Transportation security. Consider cybersecurity breaches as market failure events. Innovate market improvement to prevent future failures. Equate personal safety and privacy with national security and develop strategize to improve safety and security.

Artificial Intelligence, Critical Infrastructure Resilience, Cybersecurity, Intelligent Transportation, IT Operations, IT System Modernization, IT Workforce Development, Risk Management

Mission-oriented change at scale.