U.S. President Barack Obama has appointed Megan Smith who is a top Google X executive as the next U.S. chief technology officer.

Smith is to replace Todd Park who has given up the CTO role last month to take on the position of the government's leading emissary in Silicon Valley. 

Smith will lead a team back in Washington where the team will also acquire a new deputy, Alex Macgillivray who is a former legal expert from Twitter.

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Obama said in a statement that Megan has spent her career leading and honing talented teams who are taking technology and innovation initiatives transition from concept to design to deployment.

He is confident that her new role as the U.S.' Chief Technology Officer will put her record of leadership and exceptional skills to work and Obama is grateful that her commitment to serve is unwavering. The U.S. president looks forward to working with her along with new Deputy U.S. CTO Alexander Macgillivray.

Smith was the former Vice President at Google X which developed risky technology from self-driving cars to drones.But her Washington role offers a new challenge where the U.S. government's tech arm is far more obsolete than anything found in Silicon Valley. 

Smith worked on Google X's Solve For X think tank project slash community effort and its Women Techmakers diversity and awareness initiative.

As Google X's vice president for new business development, most of her work also contributed to the massive growth of Google Maps and Google Earth.

While the U.S. administration has repeatedly tapped the ranks of Google employees recently, this move should support the U.S. Digital Service that consists of a team of experts that focuses on fixing technical problems found on government websites and ultimately, help upgrade federal technology. 

TagsObama Names Ex-Google X Vice President as New U.S. Chief Technology Officer, google x vp, Obama, US government, white house taps google