What's in Store for 'America's CTO?'

Barack Obama may be a big step closer to filling his cabinet after the nomination of Republican Sen. Judd Gregg as Commerce Secretary on Tuesday, but there is still no sign of the new president's much talked-about chief technology officer.

Despite plenty of rumors about the possible candidates, it is unclear who will fill the role of government CTO, a newly created Cabinet-level position pushing the president's bold information technology plan.

After a whole host of Silicon Valley celebrities and Washington insiders were touted for the role, recent news reports suggest that the field has narrowed to two candidates; Cisco Systems (CSCO ) CTO Padmasree Warrior and Vivek Kundra, the CTO of Washington, D.C.

Somewhat surprisingly, Symantec (SYMC) CEO John Thompson's name has not been linked to the CTO's role despite the executive's close links to Obama and Washington.

Thompson, who will retire in April, has repeatedly stated that he has no political ambitions but was hotly tipped for the role of Commerce Secretary. Jefferies & Company analyst Katherine Egbert even cheekily wished the 59-year old "good luck in Washington" at the end of Symantec's recent third-quarter conference call, prompting laughter from the other executives on the call.

During his time as CEO, Thompson, a former IBM (IBM) veteran, oversaw Symantec's growth from a small consumer-oriented company to one of the world's largest security and storage software firms.

Thompson already has strong links with Washington, and his talents were even recognized by the previous Republican administration. In 2002, for example, President George Bush appointed him to the National Infrastructure Advisory Committee (NIAC) to make recommendations regarding the security of critical U.S. infrastructure. The executive has also served as chairman of the Silicon Valley Blue Ribbon Task Force on Aviation Security and Technology.