The General Services Administration has hired Gartner executive Dave McClure to oversee the federal government's online outreach to the public.

As associate administrator for the GSA's office of citizen services and communications, McClure will run government's USA.gov portal, the official Web site of the U.S. government. "This is an unprecedented opportunity to fulfill President Obama's goal of a more citizen-centered government that is transparent, participatory, and collaborative," McClure said in a statement.

McClure had been managing VP of government research at Gartner, where he covered performance management, portfolio management, IT strategic planning, governance, business intelligence, and e-government. Pointing to McClure's government experience and management skills, Gartner colleague Andrea Di Maio in a blog post called McClure a "a perfect fit for this challenging role."

Before joining Gartner, McClure spent 18 years assessing government IT systems and management at the Government Accountability Office, eventually leading the agency's IT reviews practice, and then served as VP for e-government and technology at the now defunct Council for Excellence in Government. He also served on the Obama Administration's transition team.

McClure takes over for Martha Dorris, who, as acting associate administrator for the office of citizen services, transitioned USA.gov to Terremark's Enterprise Cloud service.

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