President Obama again turned to the Virginia technology pipeline April 18 to name Aneesh Chopra as
the nation's first CTO. Chopra, currently serving as Virginia's secretary of technology, follows the appointment of
Vivek Kundra by Obama as the new administration's CIO
after serving as Virginia's assistant secretary of commerce and technology and
the District of
Columbia's CTO.
Obama also named Jeffrey Zients chief performance officer.
"Aneesh and Jeffrey will work closely with our chief information officer,
Vivek Kundra, who is responsible for setting technology policy across the
government, and using technology to improve security, ensure transparency and
lower costs," Obama said in his weekly radio address. "The goal is to
give all Americans a voice in their government and ensure that they know
exactly how we're spending their money—and can hold us accountable for the
results."
Prior to serving in the Virginia government, Chopra worked as a managing director with
the Advisory Board Company, taking the lead role on financial and health care
issues. As the nation's CTO, Chopra's role is still undefined, but the
government's technological systems are currently largely uncoordinated.
Obama said Chopra's job will not be easy.
"Big change never is. But with the leadership of these individuals, I am
confident that we can break our bad habits, put an end to the mismanagement that
has plagued our government and start living within our means again," Obama
said. "That is how we will get our deficits under control and move from
recovery to prosperity. And that is how we will give the American people the
kind of government they expect and deserve—one that is efficient, accountable
and fully worthy of their trust."
Technology trade groups and executives rushed to praise the Chopra appointment
and to deflect criticism about the fact that Obama selected someone from
outside the Silicon Valley to head the nation's technology efforts.
Google's Alan Davidson, the search giant's senior policy counsel, said Chopra
has been "relentless in applying technology to make government work better
for citizens—from requiring state government agencies to make their sites more
crawlable, to integrating iTunes with the state's educational system."
On the Google blog, Davidson added, "Some have said that the appointment
should have gone to someone from Silicon
Valley. We disagree. Chopra's record of being unafraid
to experiment and push government to better serve citizens bodes well for his
performance in facing difficult challenges and great opportunities."
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