One on One: Vivek Kundra, US Chief Information Officer

A Q&A with Vivek Kundra, the chief information officer of the United States.

His job is to help shape the use of technology in government and build tools to help the public navigate the incredible amount of data and information available. Kundra started his career in government in 2001 as the information technology director for Arlington County (VA) and then went on to work for Gov Tim Kaine (D-VA). Later, he worked for Mayor Adrian Fenty (D) of the District of Columbia before President Barack Obama appointed him to the White House post in 2009.

He says he has four priorities: First is to make sure we effectively manage the $80 billion in information technology funding for the government. Second, we want to optimize where that money is spent, driving efficiency and effectiveness across the entire government. Third is to create an open, transparent and participatory government, creating Web sites like data.gov. Lastly we are focused on cybersecurity, creating a new real-time security posture.