Michael Kratsios

Michael John Kotsakas Kratsios (born November 7, 1986)[1] is an American business executive and government official. He served as the fourth Chief Technology Officer of the United States at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.[2] In this role, Kratsios served as President Donald Trump's top technology advisor.[3] From July 10, 2020 to January 20, 2021, Kratsios was also the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.

Michael Kratsios
4th Chief Technology Officer of the United States
In office
August 2, 2019 – January 20, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byMegan Smith
Succeeded byAlexander Macgillivray (acting)
Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
Acting
In office
July 10, 2020 – January 20, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byMichael D. Griffin
Succeeded byTerry Emmert (acting)
Personal details
Born
Michael John Kotsakas Kratsios

(1986-11-07) November 7, 1986
Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationPrinceton University (BA)

Education

Kratsios' family is from Volissos, Chios, and the city of Kastoria, both in Greece.[4] He graduated from Richland Northeast High School in Columbia, South Carolina, in 2004.[5] He then studied at Princeton University and graduated with a B.A. in politics and a certificate in Hellenic studies in 2008.[6][7][8][9] Kratsios completed a 125-page long senior thesis, titled "Economics and Voting in the Third Hellenic Republic: An Aggregate and Individual-Level Analysis of the Greek Electorate, 1985-2007," under the supervision of Markus Prior.[10] He was a visiting scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing.[2]

Career

While in college, Kratsios was an intern for U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham and editor-in-chief and president of Business Today.[3][11][12] Following his time at Princeton, he worked for Barclays Capital and Lyford Group International, and later served as the chief financial officer of Clarium Capital Management.[12][13]

Prior to joining the Trump administration as deputy assistant to the president, Kratsios was a principal at Thiel Capital and served as chief of staff to entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel.[6][14][15]

White House

Kratsios joined the White House in 2017 as Deputy Assistant to the President for Technology Policy. In March 2019, the White House announced that President Trump would nominate Kratsios as the next U.S. CTO and an associate director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.[16] On August 1, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to confirm him as the fourth U.S. CTO.[17]

At the White House, Kratsios advocated for the promotion of emerging technologies in the United States.[18] Under his leadership, the White House hosted the American Leadership in Emerging Technology Summit during the Administration's Technology Week in June 2017, kicking off a multi-year effort to prioritize domains in which the United States must ensure technological preeminence to maintain a strong economy and safeguard national security.[19][20][21]

Kratsios led administration efforts on artificial intelligence and quantum information science. Kratsios is the architect of the American AI Initiative, the national strategy for promoting American leadership in AI.[22][23] He also oversaw the implementation of the bipartisan National Quantum Initiative Act, including the establishment of a new National Quantum Coordination Office in the White House.[24] In August 2020, Kratsios announced a billion dollar investment in research institutes to advance AI and quantum R&D in the United States.[25] Kratsios was responsible for developing a first-of-its-kind set set of regulatory principles to govern AI development in the private sector.[26] In January 2020, Kratsios announced the establishment of the National AI Initiative Office at the White House.[27] He also led the White House effort to integrate drones into the national airspace system, resulting in a presidential memorandum signed October 25, 2017, that called for the establishment of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program.[28][29][30][31]

In March 2020, Kratsios launched the COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium, the largest public-private computing partnership ever created, to match researchers with the world’s most powerful computing resources, accelerating the pace of scientific discovery in the fight against the virus.[32][33]

Kratsios has represented the United States as Head of Delegation at a number of international fora, including G7 Technology Ministerials in Turin, Montreal, and Paris,[34][35][36] and G20 Digital Economic Ministerials in Salta, Argentina and Tsukuba, Japan.[37][38] He worked with U.S. allies, including in the G7, to counter China in AI policy,[39] and during his tenure, the U.S. joined the Global Partnership on AI.[40]

Kratsios also led U.S. efforts at the OECD to develop the OECD Recommendations on AI, the world's first intergovernmental policy guidelines for AI.[41]

Department of Defense
Kratsios' official Pentagon photo

On July 13, 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Kratsios would serve as its Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.[42][43][44] In this role, Kratsios served as the third highest ranking official at the Department of Defense and the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense for technology, supervising all defense research and engineering, technology development, technology transition, prototyping activities, experimentation, and developmental testing activities and programs.[45][46] Kratsios also oversaw the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Missile Defense Agency, the Defense Innovation Unit, the Space Development Agency, and the DOD laboratory enterprise. Kratsios managed a $106 billion research and development budget, the largest in the world.[47]

Kratsios has advocated for the Department to better leverage its unique testing authorities to accelerate innovation, to strengthen its research and development partnerships with startups and smaller innovators, and to enhance its strategic R&D collaboration with America's international allies.[48] Kratsios led the Department’s efforts to accelerate the adoption of 5G, and in October 2020, announced $600 million in awards for 5G experimentation and testing at five U.S. military test sites, representing the largest full-scale 5G tests for dual-use applications in the world.[49]

Kratsios has also advocated for greater participation of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and minority serving institutions (MSIs) in the defense industrial base. In September 2020, Kratsios announced $50 million in grants to HBCUs and MSIs to conduct research in defense priority areas.[50][51]

Scale AI Inc.

In March 2021, Kratsios joined data management startup Scale AI Inc. as its managing director and head of strategy, which is a new role within the company.[52]

Recognition

Kratsios was included in Fortune Magazine’s “40 Under 40” list in 2019[53] and was honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2020.[54] Kratsios is the recipient of the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the highest honorary award which can be conferred on a non-career Federal employee or private citizen.[55] Kratsios was also awarded the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Award for Excellence by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in 2020.[56]

Kratsios has been published in The Wall Street Journal,[57] The Washington Post,[58] Wired,[22]Bloomberg,[26] Fortune,[59] and CNN.[60]

References
  1. Princeton Alumni Weekly. Princeton Alumni Weekly. 1986. p. 57. PRNC:32101081978148. John Kratsios *85 writes that his second child. Michael John, was born Nov. 7, 1986.
  2. "Turin G7 Ministerial Ind. – U.S. Delegation: Michael Kratsios". United States Department of State. September 25, 2017. Michael graduated from Princeton University and served as a Visiting Scholar at Beijing's Tsinghua University.
  3. MacMillan, Douglas (November 13, 2017). "Michael Kratsios Plays Peacemaker Between Trump and Tech". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017.
  4. Voria.gr. "Από τη Χίο ο νέος υφυπουργός Άμυνας των ΗΠΑ, Μιχάλης Κράτσιος-Κοτσακάς". Από τη Χίο ο νέος υφυπουργός Άμυνας των ΗΠΑ, Μιχάλης Κράτσιος-Κοτσακάς. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  5. "Richland School District Two - Junior Scholars Recognized".
  6. Waldman, Scott (February 14, 2018). "Will Trump name a scientist? A poli-sci grad runs the show". Environment & Energy Publishing. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018.
  7. University, Princeton. "Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies – Certificate Students – Princeton University". www.princeton.edu. Archived from the original on May 15, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  8. Kratsios, Michael John Kotsakas (April 8, 2008). "Economic and Voting in the Third Hellenic Republic: An Aggregate and Individual-Level Analysis of the Greek Electorate, 1985-2018" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 29, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  9. Karuppur, Abhiram (April 4, 2017). "April 4, 2017: Kratsios '08 Joins White House Tech Office; Astronomer Ruiz *75 Honored; and More". Princeton University. Michael Kratsios '08, formerly the chief of staff for Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel, was named the White House's deputy chief technology officer by President Donald Trump.
  10. Kratsios, Michael J.K. Prior, Markus; Princeton University. Department of Politics (eds.). "Economics and Voting in the Third Hellenic Republic: An Aggregate and Individual-Level Analysis of the Greek Electorate, 1985-2007". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. "Carroll Publishing - Government News". www.carrollpublishing.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  12. Kratsios, Michael. "Tsinghua Principles of Economics Lecture 1". Scribd. p. 3.
  13. Conger, Kate (March 3, 2017). "Thiel's chief of staff tapped as White House deputy CTO". TechCrunch. Prior to his work at Thiel Capital, Kratsios was the chief financial officer of Clarium Capital Management, another fund company founded by Thiel.
  14. Bruno, Giovanni (March 3, 2017). "Trump Taps Kratsios as the White House Chief Technology Officer". TheStreet. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  15. Kang, Cecilia; Shear, Michael D. (March 30, 2017). "Trump Leaves Science Jobs Vacant, Troubling Critics". The New York Times. Mr. Trump has not yet named his top advisers on technology or science, and so far, has made just one hire: Michael Kratsios, the former chief of staff for Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley investor and one of the president's wealthiest supporters, as the deputy chief technology officer.
  16. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to a Key Administration Post". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2019 – via National Archives.
  17. "PN563 - Nomination of Michael J.K. Kratsios for Executive Office of the President, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". www.congress.gov. August 1, 2019.
  18. "In HHS Innovation Day speech, Kratsios offers a little insight into Trump's OSTP - Fedscoop". Fedscoop. December 13, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  19. "The White House Hosts American Leadership in Emerging Technology Event". whitehouse.gov. June 29, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2018 – via National Archives.
  20. McCabe, David (June 22, 2017). "Trump will discuss drones, wireless tech with investors, execs". Axios. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  21. Mervis, Jeffrey (October 13, 2020). "'Very Disappointed': Trump's Science Adviser has Left U.S. Researchers Wanting More". Science. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  22. Kratsios, Michael (February 11, 2019). "Why the US Needs a Strategy for AI". Wired. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  23. Fitch, Asa (October 21, 2020). "White House Nears New Rules on Artificial Intelligence". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  24. "Trump Administration Announces Quantum.Gov and Quantum Frontiers Report". www.quantum.gov.
  25. Council, Jared (August 26, 2020). "White House Announces $1 Billion Plan to Create AI, Quantum Institutes". The Wall Street Journal.
  26. Kratsios, Michael. "AI That Reflects American Values". Bloomberg News.(subscription required)
  27. "National AI Initiative Office launched by White House". Fedscoop. January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  28. Reuters Editorial. "Trump administration program to test expanded drone use". Retrieved March 26, 2018. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  29. Vitali, Ali (October 25, 2017). "Trump to launch drone pilot program for a neighborhood near you". NBC News. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  30. "Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of Transportation". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved March 26, 2018 – via National Archives.
  31. "Announcement of DOT Drone Integration Pilot Program". US Department of Transportation. November 2, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  32. Ward-Foxton, Sally (May 29, 2020). "Supercomputer Operators Gang Up On Covid-19". EE Times.
  33. "White House Announces New Partnership to Unleash U.S. Supercomputing Resources to Fight COVID-19". whitehouse.gov – via National Archives.
  34. "Remarks by Michael Kratsios, Deputy Assistant to the President and Head of the U.S. Delegation to the G7 ICT Industry Ministerial | U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Italy". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Italy. September 26, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  35. @WHOSTP (March 28, 2018). "Thank you @NavdeepSBains for hosting a productive @g7 ministerial on innovation and the future of work. #G7Charlevoix" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  36. "Michael Kratsios to Lead U.S. Delegation at G7 Digital Ministerial in Paris". May 14, 2019.
  37. U.S. Mission Argentina (August 21, 2018). "Michael Kratsios to Lead US Delegation at G20 Digital Economy Ministerial in Argentina". Archived from the original on April 1, 2019.
  38. "Michael Kratsios to Lead U.S. Delegation at G20 Digital Ministerial in Japan".
  39. Singman, Brooke (May 28, 2020). "US technology chief warns China 'twisting' artificial intelligence to target critics, as America joins global pact". Fox News. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  40. O'Brien, Matt (May 28, 2020). "US joins G7 artificial intelligence group to counter China". Associated Press. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  41. Newman, Jessica Cussins (May 28, 2019). "3 reasons you should pay attention to the OECD AI principles". The Hill.
  42. Gold, Ashley (July 13, 2020). "U.S. CTO Michael Kratsios tapped as acting Pentagon tech chief". Axios. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  43. Brufke, Juliegrace (June 13, 2020). "White House CTO chosen to serve as acting Pentagon tech chief". The Hill. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  44. Shepardson, David (June 13, 2020). "White House names Kratsios as Pentagon acting tech chief". Reuters. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  45. "Defense Primer: Under Secretary of Defense for Research andEngineering" (PDF). Congressional Research Service.
  46. "US Defense Department's reform office shuts down". DefenseNews. January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  47. "White House tech adviser gets Pentagon CTO post". The Washington Times.
  48. "DOD Tech Chief Lays Out Vision for U.S. Technology Leadership". www.defense.gov.
  49. "DOD Announces $600 Million for 5G Experimentation and Testing at Five Installations". www.defense.gov.
  50. "Pentagon awards $50M to historically black colleges for scientific research". Washington Examiner.
  51. "DoD Invests $50 million in Minority-Serving Institutions to Conduct Boundary-Pushing Scientific Research". www.cto.mil.
  52. Council, Jared (May 28, 2021). "Scale AI Hires Former U.S. CTO Michael Kratsios as Head of Strategy". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  53. "40 Under 40: Michael Kratsios". Fortune.
  54. "Young Global Leaders".
  55. "Michael J.K. Kratsios". United States Department of Defense. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  56. "Michael Kratsios, United States Chief Technology Officer, Keynote Speaker at Leadership 100 Conference". Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  57. Kratsios, Michael (May 27, 2020). "Artificial Intelligence Can Serve Democracy". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  58. Kratsios, Michael (June 25, 2019). "We used to fly from New York to Paris in 3 hours. Let's do that again". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  59. Kratsios, Michael (October 23, 2019). "U.S. CTO: How America Achieved 'Quantum Supremacy'". Fortune. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  60. Kratsios, Michael (June 6, 2018). "Trump aide: The future of American aviation is all about drones". CNN. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
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