Obama’s deputy chief technology officer (CTO) is leaving the White House to oversee the launch of two start-ups.
Andrew McLaughlin – who is also a former Googler – participated in a number of high-level Internet issues under the auspices of the Obama administration, including Net neutrality, cybersecurity, online privacy and a broadband rollout strategy.
“My White House experience has been fantastic, but it’s been more than two years since I started working on the transition, and I’ve been feeling the itch to get entrepreneurial again,” McLaughlin told Politico in an e-mailed statement.
According to the outbound CTO, one start-up organization will focus on encouraging low-cost, collaborative tech for state and local governments, while the other is expected to support new tech start-ups in developing countries.
It should be noted that McLaughlin was harshly criticized earlier this year by Republicans for using his personal Gmail account to consult with former colleagues at Google.
To be sure, California Rep. Darrell Issa, who is slated to take over the House Oversight Committee next month, demanded “increased oversight” of the White House’s e-mail practices as a result of the above-mentioned incident.
The correspondence also violated a pledge made President Barack Obama that prohibits White House employees from directly engaging their former employers and clients for at least two years.
