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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 323-03
November 12, 2003

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES THE RESIGNATION OF OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMISSIONER JOHN T. ODERMATT

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the resignation of Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Commissioner John T. Odermatt.  Commissioner Odermatt will leave OEM at the end of the year to work for Citigroup where he will be the Director for Corporate Business Continuity.  The Mayor has asked Nat Leventhal, Chair of the Appointments Committee, to conduct a search for a replacement.

“John Odermatt has been a dedicated public servant for the City of New York for more than 20 years,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “As Commissioner, he has done an excellent job strengthening the Office of Emergency Management since the attacks on September 11, 2001 and also preparing our City to respond to other emergencies, as was evident during this summer’s Blackout.  John has been a great asset to this administration and I wish him all the best.”

“I have spent my entire professional career serving the people of New York, and it has been an honor to go to work everyday,” said Commissioner Odermatt.  “Threats to public safety have changed dramatically over that time, but New York City has set the pace for change through innovation.  I am particularly proud of the talented and tireless men and women of the New York City Office of Emergency Management, who devote their daily lives to preparing and mitigating the widest possible range of natural and man-made disasters.  In the New Year I will leave to pursue new opportunities and challenges in the private sector, but I leave knowing that the OEM headquarters destroyed in the attacks of September 11th are being rebuilt and that New Yorkers are safer than at any time in my career.”

Commissioner Odermatt grew up in Astoria, Queens, and began his career in public safety in January of 1982, when he joined the New York City Housing Authority Police Department.
He was promoted to Captain in 1994 and also served as Chief of Staff of the Housing Police Department.  Odermatt later became the Executive Officer of the New York City Police Department's Intelligence Division in February 1998, and rose through the ranks to the position of Assistant Chief in November 2001.

In July of 2000, Odermatt was named First Deputy Director of OEM. As First Deputy Director, he was responsible for ensuring that OEM provided interagency and intergovernmental coordination in the event of public health, infrastructure or security emergencies. On April 4, 2002, Mayor Bloomberg appointed Odermatt Commissioner of OEM.  He is the third person to lead the agency since it was established in 1996.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Edward Skyler / Robert Lawson   (212) 788-2958

Jarrod Bernstein   (718) 422-4888




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