[NPMUG] State of Virginia's "Apple-friendly" Aneesh Chopra announced as Chief Technology Officer

[Dave Sevick]

Aneesh Chopra announced as chief techie of the USA

Aneesh Chopra has been appointed as the US govenrment's first chief  
etchnology officer. Photograph:bigmikesndtech/Flickr/Some rights  
reserved

Chopra has been welcomed with open arms by Silicon Valley; the venture  
capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers said in a statement it  
is "an inspired appointment" while Google's chief executive Eric  
Schmidt (who was quick to rule himself out of the running when the  
post was announced a few months back) said Chopra had "built one of  
the best technology platforms in government in the state of Virginia"  
- though created in extensive partnerships with Google.

Web veteran Tim O'Reilly said the industry couldn't do better: "He's a  
brilliant, thoughtful change-maker. He knows technology, he knows  
government, and he knows how to put the two together to solve real  
problems."

The very Apple-friendly Chopra's initiatives for Virginia, where he  
has been since 2003, have included encouraging students and teachers  
to publish and share material through iTunes and also a competition  
for school kids to design a maths application for the iPhone.

President Obama made the announcement via US radio on Saturday.

"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," he said.

Chopra will work alongside Jeffrey Zients, who has also been announced  
as 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.

"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."



Read the article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/apr/20/obama-administration-usdomesticpolicy



Watch President Obama speak about Chopra:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/04/18/Weekly-Address-Efficiency-and-Innovation/

Aneesh Paul Chopra - Chief Technology Officer
Chopra serves as Virginia’s Secretary of Technology. He leads the  
Commonwealth’s strategy to effectively leverage technology in  
government reform, to promote Virginia’s innovation agenda, and to  
foster technology-related economic development. Previously, he worked  
as Managing Director with the Advisory Board Company, leading the  
firm’s Financial Leadership Council and the Working Council for Health  
Plan Executives.



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