Raf Portnoy

Polytechnic Alumni Association - International Board of Directors

(Term ending August 31, 2028)

Rafail Portnoy is a technology and business leader with more than three decades of demonstrated success transforming digital operations and driving enterprise performance and value. He has worked with several renowned organizations – encompassing public and private and for-profit and nonprofit groups – including the State of New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Safe Horizon, Inc., The Levin Institute at The SUNY Global Center, and IBM Fortune 500 clients.

Rafail joined the State of New York MTA in January 2020 as its Chief Technology Officer. As CTO, he oversees all information and operational technologies across the MTA’s six operating agencies, including NYCT, MNR, LIRR, B&T, and others. He leads 3,000 IT professionals to overhaul the MTA technology ecosystem end-to-end, including cloud and software systems, internal and customer applications, AI analytics, and operational technology (OT) cybersecurity for more than a trillion physical assets. He manages a $1.2 billion capital portfolio and an annual Operating and Capital budget of $ 700 million. In three years, Rafail has slashed maintenance costs by $100 million annually. His efforts have been instrumental in driving significant rider satisfaction improvement as the MTA returns to pre-COVID ridership levels.

Prior to the MTA, Rafail rebuilt and dramatically improved the global operations of the ADL, one of the world’s premier NGOs. He centralized and updated legacy systems from 27 separate global locations into one platform and operationalized online, call center, and AI solutions. His leadership enabled higher revenues and streamlined the identification of online profiles of extremists.

Earlier, at Safe Horizon, Inc., Rafail revamped the technology infrastructure for the largest victim services nonprofit in the USA with 50+ locations in New York City. His solutions have enabled support action to be accelerated in emergencies and have led to enhanced New York City funding parameters, increasing service delivery to the community.

Recruited as the founding Chief Information Officer for The Levin Institute at The SUNY Global Center, Rafail created and led the global IT organization of the newly formed elite think tank, focused on issues of globalization and cross-border management. He designed and deployed the world’s first, one-of-a-kind, global technology ecosystem, placing the SUNY system as the leading academic institution in academic/commercial collaborative education and research.

Rafail started his professional career at IBM Global Services, where he became the Principal of Global Technology Services. In this capacity, he provided IT leadership, strategic direction, and visionary policy and process guidance to key IBM and Fortune 500 executives. Among his clients were the Top-Five USA banks and the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).

At the 2023 Government Technology Conference, Rafail was the recipient of the “Best of New York City Award.” He received NYU Tandon’s “Outstanding Adjunct Faculty of the Year Award” in 2019 while teaching in NYU’s prestigious Cyber Fellows program. In 2017, he was selected as a speaker at the Salesforce industry event Dreamforce ’17 for his work at ADL. Following 9/11, he received a “Letter of Recognition” from NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani for his critical technical support during the emergency.

Rafail holds a Master of Science in Information Systems Engineering degree from Polytechnic University, now NYU Tandon School of Engineering, and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management Information Systems from Pace University. He maintains national security clearance from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Rafail resides in Rockland County, New York, with his wife and two children.