The White House will announce today that former Microsoft executive Steven VanRoekel will replace Vivek Kundra as the federal chief information officer, according to an administration official.
VanRoekel left his post as managing director of the Federal Communications Commission in June for an executive director position with the U.S. Agency for International Development. His Twitter account, @stevenvDC, has already been updated to reflect his new position as federal CIO. The New York Times reported the news early Thursday.
At the FCC, VanRoekel headed the agency’s new media efforts and the redesign of FCC.gov, which operates in a cloud computing environment. Prior to joining the FCC in 2009, VanRoekel held various positions with Microsoft during his 15-year career there. While at the FCC, he blogged about efforts to grasp the benefits of modern technology like cloud computing, a sign that he is on board with the administration’s move to cloud computing.
“Thanks to clear vision and consistent execution from government leaders, agencies are increasingly empowered to leverage the benefits of cloud computing,” he wrote.
Kundra, who is meeting with reporters today, announced in June that he would resign this month for a fellowship at Harvard University.
