President-elect Barack Obama has tapped a Google executive, Sonal Shah, to be part of an advisory board in his transition team. The announcement coincided with the launch of Change.gov, a new Web site set up by the Obama team for information about the transition effort.
Ms. Shah is currently Head of Global Development Initiatives at Google, and has held positions at investment giant Goldman Sachs, as well as positions with the National Security Council and the Treasury Department.
The inclusion of a Google exec on the transition teamis advisory board, as well as Julius Genachowski, the cofounder of LaunchBox Digital, underscores the growing link between technology and government, or at least politics. Other members of the team include several people from the world of finance, attorneys, and other former government officials.