Riazi to take lead IT position at leading New York cancer center

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has hired a former technology executive from the United Nations to take the lead role for IT operations at the healthcare organization.

Atefeh “Atti” Riazi will become the cancer center’s chief information officer on Monday. She replaces Patricia Skarulis, who had been vice president and CIO there since 2002 and recently retired.


MSKCC executives say Riazi will be tasked with developing and implementing an enterprise-wide, long-term strategic information technology plan and oversee the integration of data and technology resources across the organization.

Riazi has led large-scale transformation efforts in both the public and private sector. At the United Nations, she was the chief information technology officer and assistant secretary general since 2013, managing and revitalizing all information and communication technologies across the organization.

In her new role, Riazi will report to Claus Jensen, MSKCC’s chief digital officer and head of technology. She will work with other leaders in IT to develop a modernized data and digital platform for MSK’s cancer care and research.

“Atti’s recruitment follows an extensive, national search to identify a leader who will help successfully guide MSK’s evolution into a data-centric and digital organization,” Jensen says. Her role “is a key element in our institution’s digital transformation.”

Riazi takes the CIO role held by Skarulis at MSK for nearly two decades. Before coming to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Skarulis had served as vice president and CIO at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center from 1990 to 2001, and she filled a similar position at Duke University from 1983 to 1990. Skarulis has played a leading role in the healthcare IT community, participating in CHIME, HIMSS and other industry initiatives. She was recognized for her contributions with the John Gall Jr. CIO of the Year award in 2008.