Obama has focused on two main CTO candidates
Obama has been building a strong cabinet of advisers, but the position that was initially one of the most contested by political pundits is not yet filled: National CTO. The benefits of having a National CTO (Chief Technical Officer) are not entirely clear. If reports can be believed, Obama may have quelled some of the pundits’ concerns by limiting the CTO’s power.
When writing about this last year, I shared some of the concerns about having a National CTO:
One of Barack Obama’s stated ideas is the installation of a national CTO (Chief Technology Officer). Taken from his talking points white paper, the CTO will serve the following purpose: Obama will appoint the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to ensure that our government and all its agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services for the 21st century. The CTO will ensure the safety of our networks and will lead an inter-agency effort, working with chief technology and chief information officers of each of the federal agencies, to ensure that they use best-in-class technologies and share best practices.
I am not entirely sure that a national CTO would be good for the people of America as far as possibly curbing the ways we use the Internet. To bring the internet into politics is to open it up for political maneuvering. There are many countries separated from each other online, cut off from each other, because their Web access is under political control and have been purposely shut off. I’d hate to see that happen to us. It may not under Obama, but what about the president who follows?
My concerns about the ability of a National CTO to limit our use of the Internet are still present and accounted for. With a new FCC chief who is more than a little tech savvy, especially in regards to telecommunications and the benefits of alternative technologies like VoiP, and the language Obama is trying to weave into his stimulus package supporting the much needed Network Neutrality concept, I’m not sure we really need a National CTO as yet. Add in that his entire cabinet is strong in tech issues and the National CTO position runs the risk of being redundant.
I had hoped to hear an announcement of a selection by today, but instead we are still only hearing reports that Obama has narrowed it down to two candidates. Who made the cut for final consideration? Padmasree Warrior, CTO of Cisco Systems and the former CTO of Motorola, and Vivek Kundra, the CTO for the government of Washington, D.C are rumored to be the choices. I’ll be interested to see if that’s true, and if so, which of the two gets selected. I admit I don’t know much about Kundra, but I do know that Cisco Systems makes some of the hardest to use web applications out there and Motorola has had some negative issues resulting from policies a CTO would be in charge of, so perhaps Warrior would be the less palatable choice of the two. Hopefully I’ll be posting an update on Monday with the name of the final, official choice and a further analysis then.
Related Posts:
January 19th, 2009
Bill Gates – out saving the world
Steve Jobs – too sick
Jerry Yang – no credibility
Larry Page – too busy taking over the world
Sergey Brin – ditto
Mark Zuckerberg – needs a business model
Tom Anderson – too many friends, plus Uncle Rupert wouldn’t approve.
That only leaves Kevin Rose. You read it here first!