Megan Smith

An award-winning entrepreneur, engineer, and tech evangelist, Smith served as the third U.S. Chief Technology Officer from 2014-2017 helping the President and his teams harness the power of data, innovation and technology on behalf of the nation. Smith recruited top tech talent to serve across government collaborating on pressing issues, from data science, AI and open source, to inclusive economic growth, entrepreneurship, structural inequalities, government tech innovation capacity, and criminal justice reform. Work included broad capacity building by co-creating all-hands-on-deck initiatives, including the public-private programs TechHire, the Computer Science for All initiative, and the Image of STEM campaigns.

Today Smith is CEO and co-founder of shift7, a company working collaboratively on systemic social, environmental and economic problems -- finding opportunities to scout and scale promising solutions and solution makers and engage proven tech-forward, open, shareable practices to drive direct impact, together. Prior to serving in government, Smith was vice president at Google for eleven years leading new business development for nine years and Google.org, and later in the leadership team at X founding SolveforX and WomenTechmakers. Smith led acquisitions of Google Earth, Maps, Picasa and engineering transition of Google.org. PlanetOut CEO leading online community and digital media in the early days of the Internet, Apple Japan, General Magic innovating early smart phones.

Board member of Vital Voices, LA Olympics 2028, Thinkof-Us; Co-founder of the Malala Fund and UN Solutions Summit, advisor to Silicon Valley Comes to the UK and the Algorithmic Justice League. Bachelors and masters degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT, master’s thesis at MIT Media Lab, serves on the MIT board as a life member. Member, Council on Foreign Relations and National Academy of Engineering.