Vivek Kundra's impressive work in helping to operationalise United States Barack Obama's Presidential Transition Team's website had triggered speculations that he would be appointed to a senior technology position in new administration.
On March 5, President Obama named Kundra the Federal Chief Information Officer at the White House.
The Federal CIO directs the policy and strategic planning of federal information technology investments and is responsible for the supervision of federal technology spending. The Federal CIO establishes and oversees enterprise architecture to ensure system interoperability and information sharing and to ensure information security and privacy across the federal government. The CIO will also work closely with the Chief Technology Officer to advance the President's technology agenda.
The President, a techie buff himself, said, "Vivek Kundra will bring a depth of experience in the technology arena and a commitment to lowering the cost of government operations to this position."
Obama added, "I have directed him to work to ensure that we are using the spirit of American innovation and the power of technology to improve performance and lower the cost of government operations."
"As Chief Information Officer, he will play a key role in making sure our government is running in the most secure, open, and efficient way possible," the President added.
Kundra said he was "truly humbled and honoured" and "thrilled with this great opportunity to serve my country" but could not comment further since all presidential appointees have to be formally cleared by the White House communication office before they can speak directly to the press.
Kundra was one of the team leaders, along with Aneesh Chopra, secretary, Technology, Commonwealth of Virginia, in the Obama Presidential Transition Team for information and technology development. Sources said that he had really impressed "with the recovery.gov website, which was one of his key projects."
"During the transition period, Vivek was instrumental in moving forward the idea of recovery.gov operationally," the source added
The sources also told rediff.com that Kundra had 'totally impressed' the Obama team, "in terms of how he handled the information, technology and cyber stuff during the inaugural and helped in coordinating all of the different agencies without a hitch."
Kundra, in a conversation with India Abroad, spoke about the work he did during the inauguration for the DC government, in concert with the Obama transition team.
"I was behind all the technology -- everything from the public safety in terms of homeland security, the fire department, the police department, and working with the US Secret Service. So, we didn't get any sleep during the inauguration."
"And Washington, DC is unique, unlike any other place in the country because it's a federal government, a state government and a local government all at once," he added.
Kundra spoke of how he "completely revolutionised the technology aspect" during the inauguration, which was unprecedented.
He acknowledged that "it was amazing how the inaugural went off so smoothly considering the millions of people who attended, and technology was the catalyst. It was behind the scenes, it was the glue that enabled communication, coordination, how to deploy forces, of looking at everything that was coming in, and also emergency communications."
Chopra, who was responsible for recruiting Kundra to the Virginia government a few weeks after his own appointment as the top technology cabinet official by Governor Tim Kaine, told rediff.com, "Not only am I thrilled, I am so excited for the country."
He explained that during the Bush administration, the CIO position, which was created by The Information, Technology, Management Act known as the Klinger-Cohen Act, "was never used to its full potential."
Chopra said, "Vivek will start off with a much stronger base of support, so he can accomplish a great deal more than was ever done previously. He is definitely going to move this thing forward."
He also lauded Obama for making the appointment, saying, "The man knows what he is doing -- he's very good at what he does and it's just exciting to watch an administration reward excellence. So, for the country, we are in a better spot."
"It's exciting because he's essentially a brother to me and he's been a terrific asset for Virginia and DC and now will be for the country. So, it's exciting to have a friend and a partner in the White House," said Chopra.
He added that it Kundra's appointment was an example for the Indian American community that "if you work hard and you are talented, the barriers are just falling by the wayside. I mean, he's young, he's an Indian American, and so he's been able to break through certain things and he's going to do great things for the country."
Kundra comes to the White House after serving as the award-winning Chief Technology Officer for the District of Columbia in Mayor Adrian Fenty's cabinet, where he was responsible for technology operations and strategy for 86 agencies.
Last year, Kundra was honoured with several major national information technology awards.
IDG InfoWorld named Kundra among the nation's top CTOs with its 'CTO 25 for 2008' award for being among the 25 IT leaders from government, nonprofits, and private industry who 'apply creativity, tech savvy, and management skills to drive excellent results in their organisations'.
The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium recognised Kundra among outstanding IT innovators "who use leadership skills, business-technology acumen, and out-of-the-box thinking to address ever-increasing challenges facing their organisations."
He was also named the 2008 IT Executive of the Year for his pioneering work to drive transparency, engage citizens and lower the cost of government operations. Kundra was also recognised for his leadership in public safety communications, cyber security and IT portfolio management.
Fenty appointed Kundra CTO for the District in May 2007, offering him a cabinet post in the DC administration, while he was working as assistant secretary of commerce and technology in the Virginia administration.
When he proudly trotted out Kundra when he was awarded the 2008 IT Executive of the Year Award, Fenty said, "My administration has worked hard to attract top talent to government and Vivek Kundra is one of the most dedicated, innovative, and people-savvy executives I've ever encountered -- within government or outside it."
He said that "even with my administration's commitment to flat budget growth, he's been able to produce consistently outstanding results," and declared, "He's a tremendous asset to my administration and the whole city."
The project that won Kundra recognition from both InfoWorld and MIT Sloan was the introduction of a new model to manage technology investments in the district. Kundra's idea was to manage IT as a portfolio of stocks, with each project as a company, its tram as the management, its schedule and financial status captured in market reports, and customer satisfaction as the market reaction.
By applying these stock-market practices to government technology, Kundra was able to identify problem projects early, and free resources for more promising initiatives.
The awards from InfoWorld and MIT Sloan are only the most recent of national awards that Kundra and his department won last year. His office also won two Public Technology Institute's 2007-2008 Technology Solutions Awards for local governments that use technology to enhance service delivery, lower operating costs, and open new revenue opportunities.
During his stint with the Virginia government, Kundra developed technology innovations to streamline government and enhance business opportunity, including a dashboard that uses business intelligence to maximise the participation of citizens in state procurement.
In 2007, he assembled the largest United States trade delegation ever to visit India, comprising over 100 business leaders, which resulted in $99 million investment for the state.
Before he joined the Virginia Administration of Governor Tim Kaine, Kundra was vice president of marketing for Evincible Software, a company focused on electronic signatures and identity management for the financial services and defense sectors.
Prior to his stint with Evincible, he was CEO of Creostar, where he advised clients in government and industry on IT governance and strategy.
But it was really while serving as Director of Infrastructure Technology for Arlington County in Virginia, a job he took up on 9/11, 2001, that he made his mark and was considered one of the rising stars in the IT sector in Washington, DC.
Kundra, in his job with Arlington County, built the first high-speed municipal I-Net in the country.
He also served as adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland, his alma mater, where he taught courses in the theory and application of new technologies ranging from wireless protocols to artificial intelligence.
Kundra received both his bachelors -- in psychology -- and his master of science degrees from the University of Maryland in College Park. He is also a graduate of the University of Virginia's Sorenson Institute for Political Leadership.
