The former head of Google's public policy team will soon reportedly be working for the public.
Andrew McLaughlin, currently listed as Google's director of global public policy, will leave Google to accept a position within the Obama administration reporting to the nation's new chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra, according to a report in The New York Times. McLaughlin's new title will be deputy chief technology officer, and he would become the third high-profile Google executive to join the government since Obama was inaugurated in January.
Google confirmed that McLaughlin plans to leave, but is still with the company. The White House could not be reached for comment.
McLaughlin oversaw Google's interests regarding governments around the world, for example, devoting ample time in 2006 to managing pressure over Google's policies in China. He'll join former colleagues Katie Stanton and Sonal Shah in the new administration, which has been advised on technology matters by Google CEO Eric Schmidt since Obama was on the campaign trail.
Speculation has grown in recent months that the new administration would be taking a closer look at Google, which dominates the market for Internet search and advertising. Google and the Federal Trade Commission are apparently discussing Schmidt's role as a member of the board of directors of both Google and Apple, and the Department of Justice is reportedly taking a look at Google's recent settlement with book publishers.
This post was updated several times after 12:30 PDT with industry reaction.
President Barack Obama, in his weekly address Saturday, announced the appointment of Aneesh Chopra to serve as the nation's first chief technology officer.
Chopra, who is currently Virginia's secretary of technology, "will promote technological innovation to help achieve our most urgent priorities--from creating jobs and reducing health care costs to keeping our nation secure," Obama said.
Aneesh Chopra, Virginia's secretary of technology, is President Obama's pick for the nation's first chief technology officer.
(Credit: Virginia.gov)At the same time, Obama also announced the appointment of executive and management consultant Jeffery Zients to be the administration's chief performance officer. Zients, along with Chopra "will work closely with our chief information officer, Vivek Kundra, who is responsible for setting technology policy across the government, and using technology to improve security, ensure transparency, and lower costs," the president said.
Chopra has led his commonwealth's "strategy to effectively leverage technology in government reform, to promote Virginia's innovation agenda, and to foster technology-related economic development," according to a White House press release.
Prior to his Virginia post, Chopra was managing director for the Advisory Board Company, where he advised executives on health care operations. That likely prepared him for Obama's proposed health care reforms, which focus heavily on information technology.
At the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee's State of the Net Conference in Washington earlier this year, Chopra talked of Virginia's initiatives to improve aspects of governance in areas like health care and education.
For example, Virginia was set to debut its physics "flexbook," comprised of Web-based instructional materials that cover areas of physics in which Virginia's traditional curriculum is lacking.
"You can make information more accessible, collaborate more, and people can do more to hold their elected officials more accountable," said Chopra, who was one of a team of volunteers serving on the Obama transition's technology, innovation and government reform police working group.
Although Chopra had reportedly been under consideration for months for a job in the administration and had put in long hours helping Obama's transition team, much of the speculation around the post surrounded candidates with Silicon Valley roots, as TechCrunch points out in a post with the headline, "Obama Spurns Silicon Valley Vets."
Others, like Tim O'Reilly, are praising Chopra as the perfect candidate due to his understanding of how to build a better government with the help of technology.
Mark Rutledge, director at McAfee's public sector business and former CIO for the state of Kentucky, also had strong praise. "Aneesh Chopra is a fantastic pick, he is a visionary and a great communicator. If I was looking for one person to bring change, and create energy he's the pick," he said in a statement
Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, also commended Obama for his choice. "Chopra is an excellent selection as he served proficiently in Virginia as Secretary of Technology and also has a strong background in the private sector advising the health care industry on technology management issues," he said in a statement. "He will bring to the position real world technology and public policy experience."
- prev
- 1
- next
