Ms. Archana Vemulapalli was nominated to serve as the District's Chief Technology Officer (CTO) by Mayor Muriel Bowser on January 12, 2016.

Prior to joining OCTO, Ms. Vemulapalli was Chief Technology Officer for Pristine Environments where she helped business leaders use technology as an enabler. She was responsible for the company’s IT strategy and transforming the company’s technology solutions offering in the market. In this position, she demonstrated technology leadership by developing and executing IT strategies to promote organizational growth and ensuring optimal utilization of emerging technologies. Ms. Vemulapalli also operated a successful technology and strategy consulting practice in Washington DC.

Previously, she spent years as a technology strategy consultant at global consulting firms such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte Consulting and Lucent Technologies etc.

Ms. Vemulapalli has a master’s degree in Leadership from McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, a master’s degree in Telecommunications from the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree in Engineering from the University of Madras.

Ms. Vemulapalli is the recipient of Washington Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business 2015 award. Ms. Vemulapalli was selected to participate in Leadership Greater Washington Class of 2015 and Women in Technology’s Leadership Foundry Class of 2014. Ms. Vemulapalli serves on the Trustees Council of Penn Women at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a NACD Board Governance Fellow.

Mark Walsh was appointed by President Obama to head the Office Investment and Innovation (OII) at the U.S. Small Business Administration. OII runs the Small Business Investment Company, Small Business Innovation Research, Technology Transfer and Growth Accelerator Competition programs, amongst others. He’s part of the agency’s senior executive leadership team.

Mark has 30+ years of experience as a technology entrepreneur, manager and investor. He was the executive chair of Homesnap.com, CEO/Co-founder of GeniusRocket, CEO and Chairman of VerticalNet, and a division head/senior executive at technology and content companies, like GE, AOL, HBO and others. He has also been an active angel and venture investor and board member.

Mark was the first Chief Technology Advisor to the Democratic National Committee, Head of Internet operations for the Kerry Presidential Campaign in 2004 and was chairman of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship Center at the University of Maryland. Mark holds a BA from Union College in NY, and was the chair of their board of Trustees. He also has an MBA from The Harvard Business School.