Vivek Kundra was appointed as the first United States Chief Information Officer by President Obama and is credited with saving over $3 billion in taxpayer dollars, adopting game-changing technologies in the public sector, strengthening the cybersecurity posture of the nation and launching an open government movement through the data.gov platform, which has been replicated across 21 nations, 29 states, 11 cities and several international organizations. Prior to joining the Obama administration, Kundra served in Mayor Fenty’s cabinet as the CTO for the District of Columbia and Governor Kaine’s cabinet as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Technology for the Commonwealth of Virginia. He has also served in leadership roles in the private sector. The World Economic Forum selected Kundra as a 2011 Young Global Leader. He was named 2011 Government Executive of the year by TechAmerica; the 2009 Chief of the Year by InformationWeek; and 2008 IT Executive of the Year for his pioneering work to drive transparency, engage citizens and lower the cost of government operations. Kundra’s research at the Shorenstein Center focused on the implications of digital media and technology on governance. He also served as a Fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center on the Internet and Society.
Digital Fuel of the 21st Century: Innovation through Open Data and the Network Effect
January 25, 2012
Vivek Kundra Shorenstein Center Fellow, Fall 2011 Executive Vice President of Emerging Markets, Salesforce.com; Former U.S. Chief Information Officer Read the full paper (PDF). Excerpt: A Shift in Power In the information economy, data is power and we face a choice between democratizing it and holding on to it for an asymmetrical advantage. For example,
