President Obama has announced that Megan Smith will serve as the next U.S. chief technology officer (CTO) and assistant to the president, succeeding Todd Park.
Bloomberg Businessweek reports that Smith, the former vice president at Google’s X lab, is the first woman, as well as openly lesbian, CTO.
Previously, she was COO and CEO of PlanetOut, which later merged with Gay.com. She was also on Out Magazine’s Power 50 list last year.
According to Dr. John P. Holdren, assistant to the president for science and technology, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, “… 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.”
In a statement President Obama said, “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. I am grateful for her commitment to serve, and I look forward to working with her.”
