What Does The Chief Technology Officer Of The U.S. Do?

In recent news that was probably below the radar of most people the United States government announced a new Chief Technology Officer.
Megan Smith, formerly the VP in charge of the Google, Inc. GOOG GOOGL R&D lab, GoogleX, was appointed to the U.S. CTO postion, just the third person to hold that title. Alex Macgillivray, a former general counsel at Twitter, Inc. TWTR, was named as deputy CTO.

So what does the CTO really do and what impact will it have on businesses?

Safe, healthy job growth

According to the president's Office of Science and Technology Policy, which Ms. Smith will be the head of, the CTO is responsbile for ensuring that technology is effectively applied in four key areas:

1. Help create jobs,

2. Ensure that health care costs are reduced,

3. Keep the nation safe,

4. Promote citizen's access to broadband.

Some of the CTO functions have a lot of overalp with other governmental organizations so the person must be adapt at political maneuvering as well as having basic science and technical skills. The task of helping create jobs is also part of the charter for the U.S. Federal Reserve, and the Commerce and Labor Departments, among other entities in Washington. Keeping the nation safe is a prime function of the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security as well. The Health and Human Services Department is mainly in charge of regulating the U.S. health care industry. 

Fast, fast, fast
Ms. Smith's background at Google will probably help her do at least part of her new job. Google is in the process of developing technology that might help expand the reach of the Internet in this country. Google Fiber, being rolled out in Kansas City, Austin, and Provo, Utah, is a program that aims to provide extemely fast fiberoptic-based broadband to neighborhoods in the three cities selected so far. And Project Loon, which is coming out of the GoogleX skunkworks, is intended to the test the concept of using balloons, satellites, and possibly drones to beam wireless signals down in remote places.

Conclusion
Megan Smith, formally head of the Google R&D organization, was recently tapped to head the U.S. government's office of technology policy and become the nation's third CTO. Ms. Smith will first have to successfully traverse various political minefields in order to make a dent. However, her background at the tech giant might give her a leg up in the position, at least in ensuring that more people can get access to the Internet.