Former Obama administration tech policy leader joins White House OSTP

Alexander Macgillivray has been appointed as principal deputy U.S. chief technology officer at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

He rejoins the government after previously serving as deputy federal chief technology during the Obama administration. Before working in government, he held private sector roles as deputy general counsel at Google and general counsel at Twitter.

Macgillivray’s appointment comes shortly after that of Denice Ross, who last month was named U.S. chief data scientist at the White House.

In a note on Twitter, Macgillivray said that his first priority was to grow the team of technologists at the OSTP.

OSTP was established by Congress in 1976 and has a wide mandate to advise the president on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs.

In a statement on behalf of department leadership, OSTP said: “We’re incredibly excited that Alex is joining OSTP as Principal Deputy Chief Technology Officer. He]will help lead efforts to grow the tech team, including helping to find the next U.S. Chief Technology Officer.”