Photograph by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic for Google
On his first full day in office, President Obama created the U.S. Chief Technology Officer (CTO) position within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to lead Administration-wide efforts to unleash the power of technology, data, and innovation to help meet our nation’s goals and the needs of our citizens.
Yesterday, President Obama announced that Megan Smith will serve as the next U.S. CTO and Assistant to the President, succeeding Todd Park, and that Alexander Macgillivray will serve as a Deputy U.S. CTO.
“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,” said President Obama. “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.”
As U.S. CTO, Smith will guide the Administration’s information-technology policy and initiatives, continuing the work of her predecessors to accelerate attainment of the benefits of advanced information and communications technologies across every sector of the economy and aspect of human well-being. Smith is an internationally recognized and award-winning entrepreneur, engineer, and tech evangelist. She joins the White House from her most recent post as a Vice President at Google[x], where she worked on several projects, including co-creating the “SolveForX” innovation community project and the company’s “WomenTechmakers” tech-diversity initiative.
For nine years prior, Smith was the VP of New Business Development at Google, where she managed early-stage partnerships, pilot explorations, and technology licensing globally across engineering and product teams. During that time, she led the company’s acquisition of major platforms such as Google Earth, Google Maps, and Picasa, and served as GM of Google.org during its engineering transition. Smith previously served as CEO of PlanetOut, a leading LGBT online community; helped design early smartphone technologies at General Magic; and worked on multimedia products at Apple Japan in Tokyo. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT.
As a Deputy U.S. CTO, Alexander Macgillivray will focus on a portfolio of key priority areas for the Administration, including Internet policy, intellectual property policy, and the intersection of big data, technology, and privacy. Macgillivray is an internationally recognized expert in technology law and policy, most recently serving as General Counsel and Head of Public Policy at Twitter from 2009–2013. He is an actively practicing developer and coder, contributing to his ability to formulate creative and sensible technology policy and understand its ramifications. Macgillivray holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a JD from Harvard Law School.
Dr. John P. Holdren is Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
