The City is a Platform

Ideas Lunch Slides / Ideas Lunch Blog Post

About John Tolva 

John Tolva served as the City of Chicago’s first Chief Technology Officer under Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Tolva was hired to set high standards for open, participatory government for all Chicagoans. The role of the CTO sets as its goals the establishment of city-wide technology and innovation priorities, interfaces with the global technology industry, and modernized, streamlined city IT systems.

Before joining the City, Tolva worked at IBM for over 13 years. In his most recent capacity, he served as the Director of Citizenship & Technology where he led the City Forward project, a public analytics site for city data worldwide. Tolva began his career at IBM Interactive Media, building systems for live event coverage and cultural heritage projects. His team developed programs that performed a wide range of tasks, ranging from contributing idle processing power to the search for a cure to HIV to matching employees with community volunteer opportunities.

Tolva received an MS in Information Design and Technology from Georgia Tech in 1998. He lives in Chicago with his wife and three children.