DelBene has been with Microsoft since 1992. Microsoft exec to be picked for HealthCare.gov

The White House is tapping the private sector for its next point man to oversee the troubled Obamacare website.

The administration is set to announce that Kurt DelBene, a former executive at Microsoft, will succeed Jeff Zients in leading the oversight of the embattled HealthCare.gov.


Zients is poised to become the director of the National Economic Council next year, forcing the administration to quickly find his replacement.

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“Kurt has proven expertise in heading large, complex technology teams and in product development,” Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday. “He will be a tremendous asset in our work.”

DelBene will be in that role for at least the first six months of 2014, Sebelius said.

He was most recently the president of the Microsoft Office Division and has been with the company since 1992. Bill Gates, Microsoft’s chairman and founder, praised DelBene for his expertise in “managing complex large-scale technology projects.”

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According to the company, DelBene held leadership roles on key teams at Microsoft including the Microsoft Business Division, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange. He had announced in July that he would retire from Microsoft by the end of this year.

DelBene is also the husband of freshman Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.).

“I’ve long said that we need more people to enter public service who are focused on delivering results,” Suzan DelBene said in a statement. “Kurt has demonstrated throughout his career that he is about results, and his decision to join the administration will be extremely valuable to their efforts to improve the website.”

Led by New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, several Senate Democrats wrote to President Barack Obama late last month, asking the White House to quickly replace Zients.

Zients’ work was widely praised by Senate Democrats, and many of them were eager to ensure quickly that someone of his caliber would be quickly named to replace Zients.

“A project of this size and scope demands the sustained leadership and day-to-day management of a chief executive officer – someone whose sole responsibility would be an unrelenting focus on healthcare.gov and who has experience overseeing large and complex consumer-facing technology projects,” the senators wrote.

Senators who signed the letter were Shaheen and Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mark Warner of Virginia, Chris Coons of Delaware, Mark Udall of Colorado, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Tim Kaine of Virginia. Sebelius credited those senators for providing key input on the HealthCare.gov role.

“Kurt DelBene has an impressive background that instills confidence in his ability to provide management expertise, strategic guidance and oversight of this critical project moving forward,” Shaheen said Tuesday.

Manu Raju, Jonathan Allen and Carrie Budoff Brown contributed to this report.