The White House has announced the appointment of six executives to the leadership team that will be key in implementing a program that will invest $50 billion in the U.S. semiconductor industry in accordance with the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.
Aaron “Ronnie” Chatterji, chief economist of the Department of Commerce, will serve as the White House Coordinator for CHIPS Implementation at the National Economic Council and oversee CHIPS Implementation Steering Council’s work as outlined in an executive order that President Biden signed in August, the White House said Wednesday.
Michael Schmidt, most recently a senior adviser at the Department of the Treasury, will serve as director of the CHIPS Program Office at the Department of Commerce.
Eric Lin, director of the Material Measurement Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, will serve as interim director of the CHIPS Research and Development Office.
Todd Fisher, program director for the American Rescue Plan Funds at the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration, will be the interim senior adviser within the CHIPS Program Office at NIST.
Donna Dubinsky, a serial entrepreneur and former CEO of Palm Computing and Handspring, will serve as senior counselor to the secretary of Commerce for CHIPS implementation.
J.D. Grom, who recently performed the duties of the assistant secretary for legislative and intergovernmental affairs at the Commerce Department, will be senior adviser to the secretary on CHIPS implementation.
“After outlining a thoughtful and comprehensive strategy for CHIPS for America, we are wasting no time building an office with experts and leaders who will efficiently execute this work,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
Raimondo noted that these leaders have decades of government, research and development and industry experience and their work will be key in improving U.S. supply chains, strengthening national security, creating jobs and driving investments in research.
