Chief Technology Officer of the United States

The United States Chief Technology Officer (US CTO) is an official in the Office of Science and Technology Policy.[1] The U.S. CTO helps the President and their team harness the power of technology and data to benefit all Americans.[2] The CTO works closely with others both across and outside government on a broad range of work including bringing technology expertise to bear on federal policy and programs, and promoting values-driven technological innovation.[3][4] The CTO and their team have historically focused on leveraging technology and technical expertise to help create jobs, strengthen privacy protections, harness the benefits and mitigate the risks of artificial intelligence, create paths to improve government services with lower costs, higher quality and increased transparency and accessibility, help upgrade agencies to use open data and expand their data science capabilities, improve quality and reduce the costs of health care and criminal justice, increase access to broadband, bring technical talent into government for policy and modern operations input, improve community innovation engagement by agencies working on local challenges, and help keep the nation secure.[5][6]

History

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Senator Barack Obama stated that he would appoint the first federal chief technology officer if elected to the presidency.[7] Aneesh Chopra was named by President Obama as the nation's first CTO in April 2009, and confirmed by the Senate on August 7, 2009. Chopra resigned effective February 8, 2012, and was succeeded by Todd Park, formerly the CTO of the Department of Health and Human Services. On September 4, 2014 Megan Smith was named as the CTO. President Trump named Michael Kratsios as U.S. CTO in May 2019, and he was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on August 1, 2019. As of January 13, 2025, President Biden has yet to nominate a U.S. CTO. This is the longest the position has been unfilled since its inception.

Name Start End President
Aneesh Chopra[8][9][10][11] May 2009 February 2012 Barack Obama
(2009–2017)
Todd Park[12][13] March 1, 2012 August 28, 2014
Megan Smith[14][15][16][17] September 4, 2014 January 20, 2017
Michael Kratsios[18] January 20, 2017
Acting: January 20, 2017 – August 2, 2019 		January 20, 2021 Donald Trump
(2017–2021)
Alexander Macgillivray
Acting[19][20] 		January 20, 2021 June 2023 Joe Biden
(2021–2025)
Deirdre Mulligan
Acting[21][22] 		June 2023 September 2024

See also

Notes

1.^ ^ Aneesh Chopra and Michael Kratsios were confirmed by the Senate because the also held roles as OSTP Assistant Director and Director respectively. Todd Park and Megan Smith were not required to be Senate confirmed. Legislation in January 2017 formalized the role of U.S.CTO, which now includes Senate confirmation as standard practice.

References

  1. ^ Obama taps America's top techie The Register, 20 April 2009
  2. ^ "Technology | OSTP | The White House", January 7, 2024.
  3. ^ Sargent Jr., John (June 4, 2010). "A Federal Chief Technology Officer in the Obama Administration: Options and Issues for Consideration" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-10-29.
  4. ^ "Technology | OSTP | The White House", January 7, 2024.
  5. ^ "President's Weekly Address Efficiency and Innovation", April 18, 2009.
  6. ^ " Remarks of Alexander Macgillivray at the State of the Net Conference", March 06, 2023.
  7. ^ Obama '08. "Barack Obama: Connecting and Empowering All Americans Through Technology and Innovation" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-07-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Schatz, Amy (2009-04-18). "Tech Industry Cheers as Obama Taps Aneesh Chopra for CTO". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2017-01-18.
  9. ^ "Nominations confirmed", "senate.gov", August 7, 2009.
  10. ^ Ashely Southall (2012-01-27). "Top Technology Official Leaving the White House". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  11. ^ Morozov, Evgeny (2009-06-03). "Not Everyone is Happy with Obama's Pick for Deputy CTO". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  12. ^ Hart, Kim (2012-03-11). "At SXSW, Todd Park talks startups". Politico. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  13. ^ "Inside the Presidential Innovation Fellows program: A Q&A with the White House". Federal News Network. April 1, 2014.
  14. ^ "Leadership Staff - Megan Smith". Office of Science and Technology Policy. Retrieved 2017-01-18 – via National Archives.
  15. ^ "White House names Google's Megan Smith the next Chief Technology Officer of the United States". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  16. ^ Davis, Julie H. (2015-01-03). "Adviser Guides Obama Into the Google Age". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-01-18.
  17. ^ "White House Names Ed Felton Deputy Chief Technology Officer". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2020-01-18 – via National Archives.
  18. ^ "Trump Finally Names a U.S. CTO". Bloomberg News. Bloomberg. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  19. ^ "U.S. Principal Deputy CTO Alexander Macgillivray departs". FedScoop. Scoop News Group. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
  20. ^ "Tech: Monthly People Moves". Axios Pro: Tech Policy. Axios. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
  21. ^ "U.S. Principal Deputy CTO Alexander Macgillivray departs". FedScoop. Scoop News Group. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
  22. ^ "Tech: Monthly People Moves". Axios Pro: Tech Policy. Axios. Retrieved 2024-12-15.