President Obama has nominated Vivek Kundra, formerly the chief technology officer of Washington D.C., as the nation’s chief information officer.
Kundra holds an MS in IT from the University of Maryland and graduated from the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership, and Virginia governor Timothy Kaine created a post for him bridging policy areas by naming him assistant secretary of commerce and technology.
According to the White House, as federal CIO, he will direct the policy and strategic planning of federal IT investments and be responsible for oversight of federal technology spending.
Obama said part of his mandate will be to lower the cost of government operations. As CIO, "he will play a key role in making sure our government is running in the most secure, open, and efficient way possible," said Obama.
The chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., praised the nomination.
"Given the enormous spending the federal government has just undertaken to stimulate the economy, the CIO must play a central role in managing the IT systems that will track the distribution of stimulus funds and help ensure proper program implementation," Lieberman said, adding that as CTO for Washington D.C., "Kundra has demonstrated the leadership and innovation needed to meet his new responsibilities."