Help Wanted: US CTO

The White House announced today that Aneesh Chopra, the nations first Chief Technology Officer, will be stepping down. No date was given in the announcement, but you can send your resumes via the Whitehouse.gov web site if you’re interested in pursuing the position.

You think you have problems running your company as CTO? Imagine the challenges that Chopra must have faced when he took over on May 22, 2009, he wa,s according to a White House blog post, ” charged with looking at ways technology can spur innovations that help government do a better and more efficient job.”

That’s a tall order for any chief technology executive, especially when he had to define the job on the fly.

That’s because prior to coming on board for President Obama, there had never been a federal CTO position and he has spear-headed such projects at the Open Government strategy and the National Wireless Initiative among others. The fedscoop web site, which appears to have broken the story that he was stepping down, wrote that he was a big supporter of open government and open innovation, two excellent goals.

Hard to know what you can do next after being CTO of the federal government of the US, but it’s got to be a tough, demanding job, one that he’s done it for more than 3 years. A regular multinational company might seem like a walk in the park to this guy after being the chief technology officer for all of the US.

So you been looking for a new challenge. You’ve been thinking you might like to move into the executive suite, or you’ve been the CTO for IBM maybe,  just waiting for the right opportunity to present itself.  Well, this might be your chance. The job is not without its hazards. It will probably be the most politically charged position you’ve ever had, no small feat considering how political executive positions are by their nature.

What’s worse, you can’t even be sure who your boss will be next year, and if he’ll give you the support you need, but if you’re willing to take a chance, it might be the biggest test you’ll ever face.

If you think you’ve got it in you, check the Whitehouse.gov web site. I’m sure they’ll be posting the position soon and just maybe you can help lead US technology policy. Heaven knows, we need a lot of help in that regard right now and Mr. Chopra is moving on to his next challenge, whatever that may be.