Aneesh Chopra

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Aneesh Chopra
1st Chief Technology Officer of the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office
August 7, 2009
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Position established
Personal details
Born July 13, 1972 (1972-07-13) (age 39)[1]
Trenton, New Jersey, United States[2]
Political party Democratic Party
Spouse(s) Rohini Dhir[3][4]
Alma mater Johns Hopkins University
Harvard University

Aneesh Paul Chopra was the first American Federal Chief Technology Officer of the United States (CTO). Chopra previously served as Virginia’s fourth Secretary of Technology. Prior to his government service, Chopra was Managing Director for the Advisory Board Company, a health care think tank for hospitals and health systems. While there, he led the firm’s Financial Leadership Council and the Working Council for Health Plan Executives.[5][6]

[edit] Background

He was born in 1972 in Trenton, New Jersey, the eldest son of Indian immigrants Ram and Neelam Chopra.[4] He grew up in West Windsor, New Jersey, also known as Princeton Junction, New Jersey, and attended West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South from 1986-1990.[7] In 2009, Chopra was awarded the Alumni Achiever Award by the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District. Chopra graduated with his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, and his M.P.P. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

He was elected as a Boys Nation Senator to represent American Legion Jersey Boys State in 1989.[8]

On announcing Chopra's nomination, President Obama outlined his aims for the CTO. "As Chief Technology Officer, Chopra's job will be to promote technological innovation to help the country meet its goals such as job creation, reducing health care costs, and protecting the homeland. Together with Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, their jobs are to make the government more effective, efficient, and transparent."[9] Chopra's appointment was confirmed by the Senate on May 21, 2009.[10]

On the December 9, 2009 episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Chopra was featured in a segment in which a series of video clips were shown of him laughing as he went through an explanation of the Open Government Initiative. During the segment, host Jon Stewart referred to Chopra as the "Indian George Clooney."[11][12]

Aneesh Chopra, President Barack Obama's information technology honcho, who was the highest ranking Indian American in the Obama administration, resigned his position from the White House on Jan 28, 2012, 09.17AM IST, apparently to try his hand at politics.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Linnell, Lisa Prezioso; Hayes, Heather B. (1 Feb 2008), "The collaborative strategist", Virginia Business (Virginia Business Publications): virginabusiness.com, http://www.virginiabusiness.com/index.php/news/article/the-collaborative-strategist/198/ 
  2. ^ "Introducing Aneesh Chopra: America’s CTO", The Indofiles, 18 Apr 2009, archived from the original on 10 Feb 2010, http://web.archive.org/web/20100212123735/http://theindofiles.com/2009/04/18/introducing-aneesh-chopra-americas-cto/ 
  3. ^ http://www.netcaucus.org/biography/aneesh-chopra.shtml
  4. ^ a b http://commerce.senate.gov/public/_files/AneeshChopraTestimony.pdf
  5. ^ Office Info Bio."Aneesh Paul Chopra, Secretary of Technology", "Virginia.gov", accessed August 18, 2009.
  6. ^ http://www.executivebiz.com/newsletter-executives-detail.php?who=achopra&check=1
  7. ^ Tracy, Ryan. "Obama taps WW-PS alum for technology post", The Times (Trenton), April 21, 2009. Accessed February 22, 2011. "President Obama has picked a graduate of West Windsor-Plainsboro High School to be the nation's first chief technology officer. Aneesh Chopra, 36, graduated from West Windsor's south campus in 1990 and spent the last three years as secretary of technology under Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine."
  8. ^ http://www.aljbs.org/cgi-bin/results.cgi/govsens.
  9. ^ Press Release," Whitehouse.gov, 18 April 2009
  10. ^ "Confirmations". Congressional Record Online. Government Printing Office. 2009-05-21. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2009-05-21/html/CREC-2009-05-21-pt1-PgS5888-6.htm. Retrieved 2011-03-03. 
  11. ^ Video of Aneesh Chopra on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart discussing the Open Government Initiative, on December 9, 2009
  12. ^ Video of Aneesh Chopra Aneesh takes his Daily Show appearance in stride in December, 2009

[edit] External links

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