Reports: Kundra to be named federal CIO

According to several published reports, President Obama today plans to name Vivek Kundra to the newly-created post of Chief Information Officer for the federal government, overseeing government technology projects. Obama still plans to name a U.S. Chief Technology Officer, a separate position that may have more of a policy role.

Kundra, who has been Washington, D.C.'s CTO up until now, was previously mentioned in connection with the CTO post, along with telecom technology executives such as Cisco Systems CTO Padmasree Warrior. The mention of a municipal government technology chief as a possible national CTO set off speculation as to what kind of job the national CTO position would be, but now it appears that Kundra may have been headed for a post suitable to his experience all along.

The CIO job is largely being seen as that of a White House aide that will oversee government use of technology and spending on technology projects. The U.S. CTO will not have government project management responsibilities, but will focus more on overall technology policies, while working in tandem with the federal CIO to some degree. Other details of the CIO post remain undeclared at this point.

For more:
- The Washington Post has this story [1]

Related articles
Kundra had been mentioned as a U.S. CTO candidate [2]
Obama discussed the CTO slot before the election [3]