Federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra to Step Down

The first-ever U.S. chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra, is leaving the government in early February, White House officials announced Friday. "As the federal government's first chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra did groundbreaking work to bring our government into the 21st century," President Obama said in a statement.

Chopra served as the White House's ambassador to the commercial technology sector, working to stimulate entrepreneurialism in areas such as health information technology, green IT and nanotechnology. He also collaborated with first-ever federal chief information officer Vivek Kundra, who departed last summer, on IT initiatives aimed at transforming government operations through proven, private sector innovations -- like mobile apps and prize contests...