Over the weekend I did some more reporting about the new U.S. chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra. Here’s my revised story showing that Silicon Valley is rallying behind this Easy Coast outsider.
Silicon Valley Rallies Behind Obama’s CTO Pick
As secretary of technology, Aneesh Chopra expanded Virginia’s high-speed Internet. He now stands to become U.S. Chief Technology Officer
By Spencer E. Ante
For all of its attributes as the world’s epicenter of innovation, Silicon Valley remains an insular region in some ways. But that hasn’t stopped many technology leaders from rallying behind President Barack Obama’s surprising choice for the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer: Virginia Secretary of Technology Aneesh Chopra.
Chopra was educated on the East Coast and has never worked for a California tech stalwart or startup. But giants such as Google, industry trade groups such as TechNet, and top Valley luminaries such as Intel Chairman Craig Barrett and prominent blogger Tim O’Reilly are applauding the 37-year-old Indian-American as a superb choice for the nation’s top technology czar. Chopra has the chops, say Valley veterans, to have an impact.
“Aneesh Chopra is one of technology’s leading lights and we are lucky to have him as our nation’s Chief Technology Officer,” said Intel’s Barrett in a written statement. “Aneesh demonstrated outstanding leadership as Virginia’s secretary of technology and believes to his core that innovation and technology are the backbone of our economy.”
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