Could long-time Google executive be leaving the search company to occupy the country's top technology post?
Forty-nine-year-old Megan Smith, who joined Google in 2003 as its business development officer in charge of major acquisitions such as Keyhole, which provided the geospatial data visualization used for Google Earth, is said to be the top candidate for the position of U.S. chief technology officer. Bloomberg first made the report on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process of choosing a CTO is private.
The chief technology officer is responsible for managing how the U.S. government uses technology. For instance, he comes up with ways to introduce more jobs in the technology industry or use the Internet to improve public education and healthcare.
If the report is true, Smith will be the third CTO of the U.S. replacing outgoing CTO Todd Parker, who will be leaving Washington back for his home in Silicon Valley in time for his children's opening of classes this fall, and Aneesh Chopra, the country's first CTO.
"From launching the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, to opening up troves of government data to the public, to helping spearhead the successful turnaround of HealthCare.gov, Todd has been, and will continue to be, a key member of my Administration," says President Barack Obama in a prepared statement.
Park, who is acknowledged for his role in fixing up the highly criticized Obamacare portal, will continue to serve as a White House advisor from Silicon Valley. His main duties will include recruiting top talent to work for government and providing the administration with an "on-the-ground" sense of the changes in the technology industry. Park is also expected to provide new ideas for improving the government's digital services.
Smith was most recently a vice president at Google X, the company's semi-secret facility for developing moonshot projects, such as its Google Glass smart eyewear, self-driving cars and the recently unveiled delivery drones currently deployed in testing in Queensland, Australia. She also served as head of Google.org, the company's philanthropic division and as one of the hosts for Solve for X, a Google forum for scientists and technology enthusiasts to brainstorm innovative technological solutions.
Before Google, Smith worked for Apple and was also chief executive of Planet Out, a website for gay and lesbian users. She earned her undergraduate and master's degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Smith has also been a proponent of the FIRST Robotics Competition to encourage children to take up careers in science and technology.
