Tech Industry Cheers as Obama Taps Aneesh Chopra for CTO
It may not be the Cabinet-level post that some were hoping for, but President Obama finally named the U.S.’s first chief technology officer on Saturday morning during his weekly radio and Internet address.
Aneesh Chopra, currently Virginia’s secretary of technology, got the nod and will soon join his former colleague Vivek Kundra, the national chief information officer, on a team tasked with using technology to make government more efficient. “Aneesh will promote technological innovation to help achieve our most urgent priorities–from creating jobs and reducing health care costs to keeping our nation secure,” Obama said in his Saturday radio address.
“Aneesh and Jeffrey [Zients, the newly appointed chief innovation officer] 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,” he said. During the campaign, the high tech community buzzed about who might fill the CTO slot, which the campaign suggested would be cabinet-level position.
