Musk Connection: Unknown
Other Corporate Affiliations: Palantir Technologies, blockchain search engine Elementus, software engineering and finance start up Theorem
DOGE Deployment: Chief Information Officer, Executive Office of the President
Gregory Barbaccia Was Appointed Chief Information Officer At The Office Of Management And Budget (OMB) And Conducted Interviews With Civil Servants On Behalf Of DOGE
- Barbaccia was appointed as the chief information officer (CIO) of the Office of Management and Budget. According to reporting from Wired, the CIO manages monitoring software of civil servants, IT at a given agency’s databases, and contracts under the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA).
- As CIO, Barbaccia sent an email to federal agencies on March 12th urging them to refrain from terminating cybersecurity employees as part of the mass layoff directive from the White House.
- According to reporting from Bloomberg, Barbaccia was one of the DOGE agents conducting interviews of civil servants following Trump’s inauguration. Politico reported that federal employees at the General Services Administration (GSA) described the interviews as “anxiety provoking” and aimed at removing non-technical employees and eventually replacing them with AI.
Gregory Barbaccia Previously Served As President Of Blockchain Startup Elementus, Which Received Funding From Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research And Was Linked To Bankrupt Crypto Company Celsius
- Barbaccia was the President of blockchain startup Elementus. The startup received $12 million in Series A funding from the crypto industry, including from Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research, which went bankrupt following the collapse of its sister cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
- Elementus founder and CEO Max Galka was accused of lying under oath and failing to disclose a conflict of interest in the bankruptcy case of crypto company Celsius. Galka testified in the case about the value of Celsius’ CEL token, but allegedly failed to disclose a conflict of interest because SBF and FTX were being sued for $2 billion by the bankruptcy estate.
Barbaccia Previously Worked At Palantir, An Analytics Company With Billions In Federal Contracts That Has Been Widely Criticized For Its Work With US Immigration Services And The IDF
- Gregory Barbaccia spent 10 years working at Palantir, a software and analytics company founded by billionaire Peter Thiel that has extensive federal contracts. Palantir’s contracts total $2.5 billion since 2009, including $531 million in the last fiscal year.
- Elementus’ Chief Strategy Officer was also a former Palantir employee. Palantir provided Elementus access to its “Foundry for Builders Program” that gives startups access to data intelligence software.
- Palantir has been criticized for its surveillance and data analysis technology that it has sold to governments. Amnesty International produced a report on Palantir work with DHS and ICE, finding a “high risk that Palantir is contributing to serious human rights violations of migrants and asylum-seekers by the U.S. government.” Palantir also works closely with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), providing artificial intelligence tools that the IDF uses in drone and air strikes on Gaza. Storebrand Asset Management divested from Palantir due to fears that its work with the IDF risks violating international law.
Barbaccia Was The Chief Information Security Officer For Theorem, A Financial Tech Start Up That Underwrites Consumer Loans
- Prior to joining the Trump administration, Barbaccia was the Chief Information Security Officer at Theorem. Theorem underwrites consumer loans and uses machine learning technology to evaluate risks in credit applications.