Obama Tags Vivek Kundra as First White House Tech Guru

The newly appointed Chief Information Officer will apply tech to help reduce government inefficiency.

Americans who have eagerly awaited President Obama’s selection of a Chief Information Officer – the government’s equivalent of a minister of technology – finally have a name for the office. On Thursday morning, the White House announced that Vivek Kundra had been selected for the job.

The 34-year-old gained experience working for District of Columbia mayor Adrian Fenty as Chief Technology Officer, and will now step up to oversee all federal technology investments and spending in his new capacity at the White House.

“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.” President Obama said in a statement. “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.”

Kundra will become the first Chief Information Officer in U.S. history – an office the President promised to create after using the likes of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other Web-based technologies to aid his campaign.