HHS CTO Todd Park to Serve as the Second Chief Technology Officer of the United States

The nation is about to see what an "entrepreneur-in-residence" can do with open data and technology.

The White House has announced that Todd Park (@Todd_Park), the chief technology officer for the Department of Health and Human Services, will step into the role left open by Aneesh Chopra, the first person to hold the newly created position...

This is some of the best personnel news to come out of Washington and the federal government under President Obama. Park has been working to revolutionize the healthcare industry at HHS since 2009, and in the private sector as an entrepreneur since 1997. Now he'll have the opportunity to try to improve how the entire federal government works through technology. It's a daunting challenge, but one that he may have been born to take on. Park is charismatic, understands technology on a systems level, and has been successful in applying open innovation and a lean startup approach to government at HHS...

As a close observer of the impact of technology on government, it's extremely exciting to hear that HHS's "entrepreneur in residence" is moving into a much bigger stage. Park's entrepreneurial energy and experience drive both his outlook and execution. He also seems to grok project management, which former US CIO Vivek Kundra identified as a core skill to encourage in the public sector. If he's able to harness the power of data to the benefit of the entire country, the outcome could be massive public good...