Washington continues to plunder Silicon Valley for digital-savvy executives; as Hillary Clinton gears up for her expected presidential campaign, she has reportedly secured the services of a senior Google executive. The Washington Post reports that Stephanie Hannon, who works as Google's director of product management for civic innovation and social impact, will become the campaign's chief technology officer, working with a team of developers and engineers to design ways for Clinton to reach voters ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Hannon worked on Google Maps and disaster relief tools
Democratic sources who spoke to The Washington Post on conditions of anonymity said that Clinton is expected to launch her bid in the coming days. The technical team will not show off what a source called "a glitzy, shiny suite of apps" at first, but will work under Hannon to create sites, software, and other "innovative" tools for Clinton to canvas and connect with supporters. Hannon has previously worked on Google's Maps app, helped develop tools to respond to natural disasters, and — helpfully for her expected role in the Clinton campaign — built software that helped share information about elections such as ballot locations and candidates.
Hannon, who has also worked at Facebook, Cisco, and Intel in addition to Google, would become the first woman to work as chief technology officer on a presidential campaign. The Washington Post says she'll work with digital director Katie Dowd, a longtime Clinton aide, and Teddy Goff, a consultant who worked as Barack Obama's digital director during his 2012 presidential campaign. Perhaps together they can convince her to stop using her own private email account for official business.