At only 33 years of age, Michael Kratsios has already completed three years as an American government official, and serving as the White House Chief Technology Officer (CTO) since 2019.
He is credited for playing an integral role in the Trump Administration tech policy agenda since inauguration, while advising the President on emerging technologies and strategic initiatives.
As announced last Monday by the Department of Defense, the Greek American has landed another high-profile role, namely acting research and engineering head at the Pentagon.
He is taking over from his predecessor, Mike Griffin who left to pursue a private sector venture.
“In seeking to fill this position we wanted someone with experience in identifying and developing new technologies and working closely with a wide range of industry partners,” Secretary of Defense, Dr. Mark Esper, said in a statement.
“We think Michael is the right person for this job and we are excited to have him on the team.”
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During his White House tenure so far, he has overseen the launch of initiatives relating to artificial intelligence, commercial drones, 5G networks and autonomous vehicles among others and has represented the country in multiple international fora as Head of Delegation.
While keeping his CTO role, Kratsios is now expected to also advance Pentagon’s goals towards innovation and use of emerging technologies.
Kratsios’ mother hails from Chios, while his paternal grandfather had migrated to the US from Kastoria.