The first person ever appointed by a president as “CIO” has tendered his resignation.
Barack Obama appointed Vivek Kundra as the federal government’s chief information officer – a title that has been used in the private sector for decades to signify the executive in charge of all things related to technology – a few months after taking office.
Kundra was tasked with using technology to help communicate with the American people, help expand the adoption of cloud-based systems, and oversee the government’s technical operations as both a monetary and security watchdog.
He had to manage an $80 billion IT budget, but over the last two and a half years has been unsuccessful in implementing a lot of the plans he announced early on. Some reports suggest he may have gotten burned out in his powerful position.
There don’t appear to be any hard feelings between Obama and his IT leader, but no one knows what went on behind the scenes. Jack Lew, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, is the one who made the resignation announcement public.
Obama will replace Kundra but did not give any indication as to who might be in the running. He did say, however, that someone with experience in managing technology in the public sector – as opposed to a private sector employee – would likely be a better candidate.
Kundra will officially leave his post in August.
