Interview With Federal CTO Aneesh Chopra

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 4 TechNet-US-CTO-Chopra

PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- TechNet, the bipartisan political network of CEOs that promotes the growth of the innovation economy, today hailed Aneesh Chopra, U.S. Chief Technology Officer, for his vision and leadership in promoting innovation as a key driver to the nation's economic recovery. Mr. Chopra this week made his first visit to Silicon Valley and TechNet co-hosted an event for him in Mountain View with the Churchill Club and the Center for Democracy and Technology.

"TechNet's mission is to ensure that our nation's leaders recognize innovation as a central driver of U.S. 
economic growth and competitiveness," said Jim Hawley, Acting CEO of TechNet. "Simply put, we believe that creating an economy spurred by cutting edge discovery means that we have to get innovation policy right.  These policy priorities include strong investments in R&D, improving our education system to create the next generation of innovators, furthering broadband deployment and doing all we can to spur green technologies and job growth.  There's no doubt that this agenda has no stronger friend than U.S. CTO Aneesh Chopra, a visionary leader with whom we've been honored to partner to ensure that our workers have the tools needed to better compete in a global economy.  

"TechNet co-founder John Doerr hit the nail on the head when he said Aneesh Chopra was an 'inspired appointment' by President Obama," added Hawley. "We agree wholeheartedly, and look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead to utilize the power of innovation to spur 
economic growth and job creation."

Mr. Chopra served an outside advisor to the Obama presidential campaign on technology and was formerly Virginia's Secretary of Technology where he won many accolades for his effective leveraging of technology in government reform, performance and 
economic development with a special emphasis on entrepreneurship in all areas of the state, including those most hard hit by 
economic challenges.  For his stellar work in Virginia, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers ranked Virginia #1 in technology management and Government Technology magazine named Mr. Chopra to its "Top 25 Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers" for those that set the standard for using technology to improve government.

Prior to joining Governor Tim Kaine's cabinet in Virginia, Mr. Chopra served as Managing Director with the Advisory Board Company, a publicly-traded health care think tank serving nearly 2,500 hospitals and health systems. He led the firm's Financial Leadership Council and the Working Council for Health Plan Executives, as well as assisted the launch of the firm's first business intelligence software solution, Compass. Mr. Chopra graduated with a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1997.  He graduated with a B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University in 1994. 

About TechNet: 

TechNet is the national, bipartisan network of CEOs that promotes the growth of technology industries and the economy by building long-term relationships between technology leaders and policymakers and by advocating a targeted policy agenda. Our members are the nation's drivers of innovation in the fields of information technology, e-commerce, clean technology, biotechnology, venture capital and investment banking - representing two million employees and $800 billion in revenues. TechNet has offices in Washington, DC, Palo Alto, Sacramento, Seattle, Boston, Austin, and Albany, NY. Web address: www.technet.org.  You can also follow us on Twitter at Technetupdate@twitter.

SOURCE  TechNet