Aneesh Chopra, who served for almost three years as the first federal CTO, has resigned amid speculation that he will run for lieutenant governor of Virginia.
Chopra, appointed by President Barack Obama to what was a newly created position in May 2009, focused on technology policy. He worked on modernizing the federal government's IT infrastructure, pushed for a nationwide public safety broadband network, helped develop Internet policy and assisted in implementing Obama's open-government strategy, said John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, in a recent blog post .
In September 2009, Obama said Chopra was "charged with looking at ways technology can spur innovations that help government do a better and more efficient job."
Mission accomplished, Holdren said. "Aneesh has led that charge in an energetic, innovative and amazingly effective manner, and sowed the seeds necessary to bring our government into the 21st century," he wrote.
Tech trade groups TechAmerica and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) also praised Chopra's service. BSA president and CEO Robert Holleyman called Chopra a "tireless leader and advocate" for using technology to tackle difficult problems faced by the country. Dan Varroney, TechAmerica's acting president and CEO, said in a statement that Chopra has left "an indelible mark" on U.S. technology policy "because of his belief in the transformative nature of technology."
This version of this story was originally published in Computerworld's print edition. It was adapted from an article that appeared earlier on Computerworld.com.
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