Chopra to step down

Aneesh Chopra, the federal chief technology officer since 2009, plans to end his tenure in the role, the White House has confirmed.

What Chopra will do next remains unclear. Early speculation indicated that Chopra's future plans could involve running for political office to take on an executive role leading the Washington offices of a major technology company, Luke Fretwell wrote in FedScoop.

Chopra "is widely expected to announce that he will run for lieutenant governor in Virginia," Federal Eye blogger Ed O'Keefe wrote.

During his tenure as White House CTO, Chopra spearheaded initiatives around open government and technological innovation, including health IT and smart grid.  His recent policy on private sector-led standardization "is but one of his many accomplishments to foster industry-led innovation and economic growth," said Christopher Padilla, vice president of IBM's governmental programs.

TechAmerica’s acting President and CEO Dan Varroney said Chopra had made "an indelible mark on technology policy in this country because of his belief in the transformative nature of technology that resulted in powerful collaborations between government and the industry that will benefit our country long past Aneesh’s last day as CTO."

President Barack Obama also praised Chopra's "groundbreaking" work in modernizing the federal government and ushering it into the 21st century.

"Aneesh found countless ways to engage the American people using technology, from electronic health records for veterans, to expanding access to broadband for rural communities, to modernizing government records," Obama said in a statement. "His legacy of leadership and innovation will benefit Americans for years to come, and I thank him for his outstanding service.”

Prior to his CTO appointment, Chopra served as secretary of technology for the Commonwealth of Virginia from January 2006 until April 2009. He also spent some time in industry, most recently as managing director of the Advisory Board Company, a health care think tank.