Mamdani Hires Lisa Gelobter as Chief Tech Officer • Hacker News Board

Re: Mamdani Hires Lisa Gelobter as Chief Tech Officer

#71

Post by hearsathought » Wed, Feb 11, 2026, 5:50 PM UTC

650 wrote: post #43

This is a bad puff piece article. Jeffrey C Mays the author is not technologically adept. She was a software engineer for a year. She was director of program management at Macromedia, which anyone who works in tech knows is more like a secretary type of role asking for project updates and timelines. I take issue with the title: `Groundbreaking Computer Scientist` in the NYT article, I challenge anyone to show me proo…

> She was director of program management at Macromedia, which anyone who works in tech knows is more like a secretary type of role asking for project updates and timelines.

Also called Project Manager or Product Manager. It's generally the position that developers who don't like programming or are bad at it move to.

> I take issue with the title: `Groundbreaking Computer Scientist` in the NYT article

I remember when we weren't allowed to criticize the "authoritative source" here not too long ago. Is dang asleep at the wheel? I don't think the groundbreaking aspect has to do with her being a computer scientist. What about her or her attributes would make her groundbreaking in a nytimes article about her?

Re: Mamdani Hires Lisa Gelobter as Chief Tech Officer

#72

Post by tossandthrow » Wed, Feb 11, 2026, 5:50 PM UTC

anvuong wrote: post #47

tossandthrow wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could say the same about a cfo, if the company does not use financial engineering, etc. The CTO role is to be invisible to the business, and do that by ensuring that the tech org is working

At every companies I've worked at the CFO always has a large presence at every townhall, after all they are the one who is responsible for sending your paychecks on time. As for CTO, yeah it's a mixed bag in my experience, I mostly see them as just another layer between the CEO/COO and the principle engineers. Maybe that's exactly what they want though.

Yeah, probably in the US, where workers protection are mostly non existent - you need to be friends with the money!

Re: Mamdani Hires Lisa Gelobter as Chief Tech Officer

#73

Post by ChrisArchitect » Wed, Feb 11, 2026, 5:54 PM UTC

lkbm wrote: post #70

lkbm wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting to poke around and see how the game of telephone works. The first mentions I saw on Twitter were from February 2018[0]. Subsequent Black History Months[1] would reiterate how she invented GIFs or sometimes animated GIFs. You even get crazy things like how she invented the animated GIF while working with the Obama administration[2]. (That post references an article that talks about her working with th…

Addendum: In the paragraph after merging Shockwave and GIFs, NYT references a Forbes interview[0] where she specifically says she didn't invent GIFs. NYT: > Ms. Gelobter was the director of program management at Macromedia where she helped develop Shockwave into a web plug-in that allowed for video games and animation on the web, turning still images into moving GIFs — animated images known as a graphics interchange…

Good note, thank you for highlighting

Re: Mamdani Hires Lisa Gelobter as Chief Tech Officer

#74

Post by indoordin0saur » Wed, Feb 11, 2026, 6:03 PM UTC

GauntletWizard wrote: post #46

indoordin0saur wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sort of off-topic but fun fact: Tammany Hall is now a dogfood and kitty litter store! Source: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Petco/@40.7364792,-73.9890...

That's their post breakup HQ - they moved in there in 1929. The Boss Tweed days were in 190 Nassau Street and 141 East 14th Street (demolished) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammany_Hall#Headquarters 190 Nassau Street - https://maps.app.goo.gl/3zjkd2mC6PwAYVB26?g_st=ac

Well it was after Boss Tweed but pre-breakup

Re: Mamdani Hires Lisa Gelobter as Chief Tech Officer

#75

Post by rozap » Wed, Feb 11, 2026, 6:22 PM UTC

650 wrote: post #51

650 wrote: post #43

This is a bad puff piece article. Jeffrey C Mays the author is not technologically adept. She was a software engineer for a year. She was director of program management at Macromedia, which anyone who works in tech knows is more like a secretary type of role asking for project updates and timelines. I take issue with the title: `Groundbreaking Computer Scientist` in the NYT article, I challenge anyone to show me proo…

As most people who have worked in engineering at large companies can attest, there are entrenched dinosaurs who have worked themselves up the management chain due to inertia. This is such an example. They are almost always out of their depth technically, and are great at taking credit for the work of others. There are people in this comments section, and online claiming she invented Adobe Shockwave. This article clai…

Even her Wikipedia page seems to have been edited by her #1 fan. It reads:

   Gelobter enrolled in Brown University in 1987, eventually graduating in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a concentration in artificial intelligence and machine learning.[3] Gelobter’s journey was full of resilience and dedication. She often took breaks off school due to financial challenges and she worked as a Teaching Assistant (TA) during school semesters, even when she wasn’t fully enrolled.

What in the world? That's not even remotely close to the tone that wiki articles are supposed to be.

We've all encountered people like this who are good at climbing the chain. Big oof.

Re: Mamdani Hires Lisa Gelobter as Chief Tech Officer

#76

Post by leephillips » Wed, Feb 11, 2026, 6:28 PM UTC

lkbm wrote: post #68

mbrumlow wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think somebody is trying to push a narrative. A now deleted post was pointing to this https://seattlemedium.com/lisa-gelobter-the-trailblazing-com... And I can see how maybe the author of the post this entire thread is about could see this and just roll with it. For the record the link I post seems to be entirely and completely wrong, and if I had such a post written so factually wrong about me, all while trying to…

It's interesting to poke around and see how the game of telephone works. The first mentions I saw on Twitter were from February 2018[0]. Subsequent Black History Months[1] would reiterate how she invented GIFs or sometimes animated GIFs. You even get crazy things like how she invented the animated GIF while working with the Obama administration[2]. (That post references an article that talks about her working with th…

The NYT seems to have an interest in making Mamdani and his administration more palatable to their readers:

http://lee-phillips.org/nytIHRA

Re: Mamdani Hires Lisa Gelobter as Chief Tech Officer

#77

Post by InitialLastName » Wed, Feb 11, 2026, 6:41 PM UTC

js2 wrote: post #37

ksynwa wrote: post #34

Can an American please help me comprehend how much power a mayor has? I am supposing a NYC mayor would be more influential than that of a less important city. But I still don't understand how that would make an appointment like this significant.

It varies by city. In some cities, mayor is barely more than a figurehead. But regardless of power, what the NYC mayor does is widely reported and it's often a political stepping stone (if not always successful) to something greater. Mamdani in particular is a celebrity right now, and with the reputation of the Democratic party in shambles, many eyes are on him.

> But regardless of power, what the NYC mayor does is widely reported and it's often a political stepping stone (if not always successful) to something greater.

The only "greater" things any recent NYC mayors have done are bankrolling presidential campaigns and failed coup attempts.

Looking back at it, the last NYC mayor who held a notable political position after their mayoral term was Robert Wagner.

Re: Mamdani Hires Lisa Gelobter as Chief Tech Officer

#78

Post by lukev » Wed, Feb 11, 2026, 6:41 PM UTC

650 wrote: post #43

This is a bad puff piece article. Jeffrey C Mays the author is not technologically adept. She was a software engineer for a year. She was director of program management at Macromedia, which anyone who works in tech knows is more like a secretary type of role asking for project updates and timelines. I take issue with the title: `Groundbreaking Computer Scientist` in the NYT article, I challenge anyone to show me proo…

That may be a puff piece, but this comment reads like a slam? I don't know anything about her personally but the consensus among tech folks I follow and respect (and are politically aligned with...) are pretty universal in applauding the choice.

Disagreeing on politics is fine but let's not slam someone technically because we don't like them. Especially in a role where tech management is actually the way more relevant skill than hacking ability.

Re: Mamdani Hires Lisa Gelobter as Chief Tech Officer

#79

Post by InitialLastName » Wed, Feb 11, 2026, 7:31 PM UTC

InitialLastName wrote: post #77

js2 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It varies by city. In some cities, mayor is barely more than a figurehead. But regardless of power, what the NYC mayor does is widely reported and it's often a political stepping stone (if not always successful) to something greater. Mamdani in particular is a celebrity right now, and with the reputation of the Democratic party in shambles, many eyes are on him.

> But regardless of power, what the NYC mayor does is widely reported and it's often a political stepping stone (if not always successful) to something greater. The only "greater" things any recent NYC mayors have done are bankrolling presidential campaigns and failed coup attempts. Looking back at it, the last NYC mayor who held a notable political position after their mayoral term was Robert Wagner.

In fact, the last mayor I can find who served in a superior political office after their mayoralty was John T Hoffman, who was mayor from 1866-1868 and then NY Governor from 1869-1872.

Re: Mamdani Hires Lisa Gelobter as Chief Tech Officer

#80

Post by screye » Wed, Feb 11, 2026, 8:05 PM UTC

ksynwa wrote: post #34

Can an American please help me comprehend how much power a mayor has? I am supposing a NYC mayor would be more influential than that of a less important city. But I still don't understand how that would make an appointment like this significant.

NYC's city budget is larger than every state apart from California, Texas, NY. At $115B, it equals Florida. By numbers alone, he's very influential.

Now NYC is a over-regulated mess that faces gridlock from both unions and the state representatives. In practice, it makes the NYC mayor a cog-in-the-machine. The real task for a NYC mayor is consensus building first, and allocation of funds second.