Another Indian likely in Obama’s team
20 Jan 2009
More Indians than ever are likely to find a place in the US administration under the Barak Obama presidency.
After appointing Sanjay Gupta as surgeon general, Obama is likely to choose Padmasree Warrior or Vivek Kundra to be chief technology officer (CTO) in his administration. If either of them are appointed, it would be the second highest job going to an Indian American in the new administration.
Born and raised in Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh, Padmasree Warrior is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. She is currently the chief technology officer of Cisco Systems, and is a former chief technology of Motorola. She was the first woman CTO in Motorola.
Kundra, who was named for the surgeon general's post as early as 2007, has held similar government positions in the past and has a reputation for using technology to make government more open and inclusive.
Neither the Obama transition team nor the two executives would comment on their potential selection.
The president-elect is expected to announce his pick for CTO in a matter of days.
According to one report, the selection are being held up because it's not yet clear how the person selected will interact with the government's chief information officer, a position now held by Karen Evans, and with the new cyber-security czar, another position that has not yet been filed.
