It's Official: America Has A New CTO
Sep 4, 2014, 22:14 IST
Flickr/joiNew U.S. CTO Megan Smith.The White House made it official on Thursday that Megan Smith, the VP of Google's secretive research lab Google X, will be America's next Chief Technology Officer.
Today's announcement follows weeks of speculation that Smith would be succeeding Todd Park, the former U.S. CTO who recently stepped down to take the technology adviser position for President Barack Obama.
Smith has been at Google for over a decade, serving as the VP of business development and head of Google.org previously. Before Google, Smith worked for Apple and Planet Out, a site dedicated to the LGBT community. She's a graduate of MIT.
Along with Smith, the White House also named former Twitter General Counsel Alexander Macgillivray as Deputy U.S. CTO.
President Obama created the U.S. CTO position within the White House to help the government create more tech-related jobs and find better ways to use the internet for things like healthcare.
President Obama released the following statement regarding Smith's appointment:
"Megan has spent her career leading talented teams and taking cutting-edge technology and innovation initiatives from concept to design to deployment. I am confident that in her new role as America's Chief Technology Officer, she will put her long record of leadership and exceptional skills to work on behalf of the American people. I am grateful for her commitment to serve, and I look forward to working with her and with our new Deputy U.S. CTO, Alexander Macgillivray, in the weeks and months ahead."