Is Mitch Kapor running for CTO of America?
If Barack Obama is elected president, will he bring Silicon Valley a new bicycle in the form of a federal chief technology officer — our very own nerd in the White House? Bloggers are already nominating their favorite conference blowhards. But Obama seems pretty serious about naming someone to the position, even if it ends up being a policy figurehead. So who will it be, really?The whispers I've heard are that the most likely candidate is Mitch Kapor — the founder of Lotus, and the man who suggested the position to Obama in the first place. Technology Review interviewed Kapor about the position. He all but nominated himself for the job — and then backed away artfully:
TR: So who's on your shortlist? I'm a million miles away from whatever group of people will actually pick the CTO. I would like it to be someone who has some startup DNA in him or her, but who's realistic about getting things done. TR: One has to ask: do you want to be CTO? I'm interested in helping in some way, but the time to think about specifics is post-election.
