The Chief Technology Officer role is increasingly crucial in our rapidly evolving tech landscape.
Once focused primarily on IT infrastructure, today’s CTOs are key strategists, driving innovation and product development. These leaders, alongside Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and other adjacent roles, play essential parts in technology management across most companies.
This article showcases 10 tech innovators in the States. Their foresight and innovation have profoundly shaped their organizations and, by extension, our modern digital lives.
These changemakers drive technological advances and set the strategic direction, ensuring their companies or institutions remain at the cutting edge. Their stories are a testament to the impact of visionary technical leadership in the global technology arena.
Matthew Fraser, City of New York
New York City Chief Technology Officer Matthew C. Fraser coordinates technology-related projects and policy in the city. Under Mayor Eric Adams’ leadership, he manages the city’s consolidated technology agencies, the New York City Office of Technology & Innovation (OTI), to democratize technology access, improve service delivery, and keep New Yorkers and their data safe.
In his current role, CTO Fraser launched the nation’s most extensive free municipal subsidized broadband program (Big Apple Connect) and a one-stop shop for easier access to essential government services (MyCity). He also oversees the Joint Security Operations Center, a first-of-its-kind cybersecurity hub where city, state, and federal entities coordinate efforts against cyber threats.
Fraser spearheaded the efforts to leverage technology to address violent crime conditions through programs expanding citywide gunshot detection coverage. This increased the number of ARGUS cameras deployed across the city and rehabilitated security cameras to cover NYCHA housing developments. These efforts led to faster response times and provided better context for responding officers to aid in the swift apprehension of violent perpetrators.
The native New Yorker has over 17 years of IT experience across government and the private sector. In addition to the NYPD, he has worked with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, the Mayor’s Office, the NYC Department of Buildings, and as a Director of Consulting Services at Gartner.
Follow Matthew Fraser on LinkedIn here
Michelle Grover, Slalom
Michelle Grover is a prominent businesswoman and Slalom’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) since October 2022. As Slalom’s first CTO, Grover oversees the technology organization, focusing on infrastructure, product engineering, and architecture. Her responsibilities include empowering Slalom teams globally, developing IT strategy, and evaluating opportunities for technological growth.
She is a seasoned professional with over 30 years of technical experience. Grover’s diverse career path has seen her take roles such as Chief Information Officer at Twilio Inc., Consulting CTO at Softcom Limited, and VP of R&D at TripIt. She actively contributes to various organizations in advisory roles and as an investor. Outside of her professional endeavors, Grover engages in philanthropy, volunteering for organizations supporting women and girls in STEM.
Born in Nigeria and currently residing in the United States, Grover emphasizes the importance of finding one’s tribe and recognizing when to move on. Beyond her achievements in the tech industry, she enjoys spending time with her son and dogs, embodying a holistic approach to life.
Follow Michelle Grover on LinkedIn here
Sam Udotong, Fireflies
Sam Udotong is the Co-founder and CTO of Fireflies, a startup that automatically records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings and conference calls. He has guest lectured several times at Stanford for introductory artificial intelligence classes.
The MIT graduate has expertise in deploying deep learning in large-scale projects, including training autonomous drones. He was president of the MIT UAV Team and helped to optimize satellite maintenance systems at Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Udotong has strong experience in full-stack and mobile development, scaling databases and infrastructure, and practical deep learning. As the startup has grown, he has built many versions of its app. Fireflies uses AI to extract the most essential information from daily conversations.
Follow Sam Udotong on Linkedin here
Navarrow Wright, Mirror Digital
Wright is currently the Chief Operating and Technology Officer at Mirror Digital, overseeing operations and technology. Before this, he served on the Board of Directors at National Urban Fellows and on the Advisory Board at SkillCycle.
The one-time youngest African American CTO in his industry has held several leadership roles in technology companies. This includes being the Senior Director of Product Marketing at Meta, where he led product marketing for Facebook’s public content creator strategy. He also served as the CTO at MNG Health, turning around a stagnant technology operation and product strategy. Wright was also the CTO at Reelio/Fullscreen, leading the development of an influencer marketing platform.
Before his roles in these companies, Wright was the CEO and founder of Maximum Leverage Solutions, where he worked with public figures and small businesses on digital and mobile strategies. He was also the CTO at Interactive One, spearheading technology operations and leading the company’s digital product and service models. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated strong leadership and expertise in technology strategy, product development, and digital marketing.
Follow Navarrow Wright on LinkedIn here
Ron Guerrier, Save the Children US
Ron Guerrier is Save the Children’s Chief Technology Officer. He provides vision and drives innovation across the organization’s technology, data, digital tools, infrastructure, and operations portfolio.
Before joining Save the Children, Guerrier held roles including Global Chief Information Officer for HP, Inc., Chief Information Officer and Secretary of Innovation and Technology for the State of Illinois, and Chief Information Officer for Express Scripts. He was also executive vice president, chief information officer for Farmers Insurance Group, and vice president and chief information officer for Toyota Financial Services.
Guerrier also serves as a board member at SBP, a nonprofit organization focused on shrinking the time between natural disasters and complete recovery. He is on the advisory boards of HTEC, a global tech engineering company founded in Serbia, and STEM Advantage, a California nonprofit that provides women and underserved communities with opportunities to pursue STEM degrees.
Follow Ron Guerrier on Linkedin here
Donnie Beamer, City of Atlanta
Donnie Beamer, CFA, was appointed by Mayor Andre Dickens as Atlanta’s first-ever Senior Technology Advisor in October 2022. He serves as the Mayor’s chief liaison with the tech sector and assists with shaping policy and programs to grow the ecosystem. Beamer also works with Invest Atlanta to attract new companies to the city, expand existing ones, and advise the Administration on fostering Atlanta’s technology workforce.
Before his Atlanta city role, Beamer was the General Manager of LotVision Automotive at Cox2M, Cox Communications’ commercial IoT business line. He was responsible for the product roadmap and strategy for the company’s flagship vehicle tracking and telematics platform.
Beamer was also an Atlanta tech entrepreneur. He led the Monsieur team, which created an automated bartending system deployed in movie theaters, hotels, and sports and entertainment venues. After graduating from college, he worked as an investment manager at BlackRock in NYC, serving institutional clients and earning his CFA charter.
Beamer studied Economics as a Division I student-athlete at the Georgia Institute of Technology and earned an MBA from The Wharton School at UPenn.
Follow Donnie Beamer on LinkedIn here
Dr. Laté Lawson-Lartego, Oxfam America
Dr. Laté Lawson-Lartego leads Oxfam’s Global Innovation Lab for Equality (aGILE), which identifies innovative solutions to inequality-related problems. He also leads Oxfam America’s work on creating equitable, nourishing, and regenerative food systems for all.
He has held other senior leadership positions with Oxfam and other international organizations, including CARE, where he and his team pioneered the organization’s first Market Engagement and Agriculture Value Chain Development strategy and implementation. This initiative reached more than 10 million people.
Dr. Lawson-Lartego earned a doctoral degree in business administration at Georgia State University in the US, focusing on innovative business strategies and value co-creation between business and bottom-of-the-pyramid (BOP) people. He also earned a master’s degree in economics and business from the University of Lomé in Togo and a master’s in social and rural development from Reading University in the UK.
Follow Dr. Laté Lawson-Lartego on Linkedin here
Bradley Bolivar: Fannie Mae
In his four years at Fannie Mae, Bradley Bolivar rapidly rose to the role of CIO and changed how the organization used technology. The tech division comprises 40% of Fannie Mae employees and is key to the company’s mission of increasing access to affordable homeownership and rental housing.
In 2023, the enterprise assisted over half a million low- and low-income renters and homebuyers. As CIO, Bolivar led the push over the last year to move most of Fannie Mae’s operations to the cloud and create an automated backup and recovery system for cloud assets. For 2025, he is focused on expanding risk management tools, completing the cloud migration, and increasing Fannie Mae’s use of automation.
Follow Bradley Bolivar on LinkedIn here
Rani Johnson, Workday
Rani Johnson is Workday’s chief information officer (CIO). She oversees the company’s global information technology organisation and is responsible for the internal deployment of Workday products.
Before joining Workday, Johnson served as CIO at Cloud Software Group, where she was responsible for developing the IT organisation’s vision and overall business strategy. Before Cloud Software Group, she was CIO at TIBCO, SVP and CIO of SolarWinds, and CIO at the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA).
Her career began as an intern at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where she was part of a team that had code deployed on the International Space Station. She holds dual electrical and general engineering degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Spelman College.
Follow Rani Johnson on LinkedIn here
Mark Mathewson, Capital One
Mark Mathewson is the Managing Vice President for Card and Small Business Technology at Capital One Financial Corporation, a diversified bank with over 65 million customer accounts domestically and abroad. Capital One’s subsidiaries offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses, and commercial clients through various channels.
In his current role, Mathewson spearheads platform modernization and simplifies core software and hardware infrastructure by building natively to the cloud, empowering engineers with the latest DevOps practices, and building self-driving software teams to speed feature development for the business.
Since joining Capital One in 2013, Mathewson has held leadership positions with increasing responsibilities in Technology. Under Mathewson’s leadership as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Small Business & Canada Technology, the organization has delivered significant results, including Canada Credit Keeper (the first Canadian Bank to launch a credit monitoring solution for customers), Business CreditWise, and the migration of Capital One’s Partnerships Co-Brand portfolio.
Mathewson is passionate about diversity, especially in the technology industry. As a member of Capital One’s Diversity & Inclusion Council, he conceptualized and launched the Blacks in Tech initiative (BIT) to amplify the focus on celebrating and increasing the representation of black engineers and leaders at Capital One.
Follow Mark Matthew on Linkedin here
