Boston-based Acquia has hired Tom Cochran as vice president and chief digital strategist for public sector. Cochran will lead Acquia’s public sector team based in Washington, D.C.
Cochran joins Acquia from the State Department where he was a deputy assistant secretary focused on online and offline platforms for US public diplomacy. In this role, Cochran focused on engaging an international audience and improving data-driven decision making within State. Cochran previously served as the director of digital technology at the White House, where he worked on the President’s Open Government Directive, leading the team that managed all of the online properties for the White House. His team was responsible for leading the delivery of the “We the People” online petitioning site.
At Acquia, Cochran will lead the company’s growing public sector group. Acquia offers a digital open source platform for the public sector that relies on Drupal. Through the platform, public sector users can develop government websites using existing tools and templates or customize sites for specific needs. Several large cities including Boston and New York currently run their municipal websites using Acquia.
In an interview, Cochran said that the move to Acquia means working with a company that aligns with his support for open source technology. “My first interactions with Acquia were as a buyer for the government. Now I’ll be working with them on the other side, developing solutions that will meet the unique needs of the public sector.”
