Ex-Microsoft Executive to Take Over Health Site Repairs Paul Sakuma/Associated Press Kurt DelBene was president of Microsoft's Office division for nearly three years until a corporate reorganization in July. WASHINGTON - President Obama has chosen a former Microsoft executive, Kurt DelBene, to replace Jeffrey D. Zients as head of the effort to finish repairs on the government's health insurance website, administration officials said on Tuesday. Speaker John A. Boehner and Kurt DelBene at a mock swearing-in ceremony for Mr. DelBene's wife, Suzan, who was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 2012. Mr. DelBene, who will start on Wednesday and stay at least through the first half of 2014, was president of Microsoft's Office division for nearly three years until a corporate reorganization in July. At the time, corporate representatives said that Mr. DelBene, a two-decade veteran of the technology giant, had chosen to retire and was not forced out. Mr. DelBene's wife, Suzan DelBene, who also was a Microsoft executive, was elected to Congress as a Democrat in 2012, representing the Washington State district where Microsoft has its headquarters. "Kurt has proven expertise in heading large, complex technology teams and in product development," Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said in a statement. He will be a tremendous asset in our work. Ms. Sebelius said Mr. DelBene would work with her, as well as with the White House and the teams of administration officials now in place, "to see this project through its next important phase." She added, "Because of the site's progress, his responsibilities, while similar to Jeff's, will reflect an evolution of focus" as officials seek to build capacity as well as reliability in the system, and allay privacy concerns. For months, the president and Ms. Sebelius have been criticized for not anticipating the online complexities and potential problems, and for failing to assign responsibility for the project to a single person with experience running similar projects. In her statement, Ms. Sebelius reflected the change in thinking. "The president and I believe strongly in having one person, with strong experience and expertise in management and execution, who is thinking 24/7 about HealthCare.gov," she said. According to senior executives at Microsoft, Mr. DelBene fits that description. "Kurt is a talented and capable executive, with a track record of successfully managing complex large-scale technology projects," said Bill Gates, Microsoft's founder. Working with Kurt over many years, I know him to be a passionate advocate for using technology to solve difficult problems at scale. He brings deep expertise as a manager and engineer to his new responsibilities. I'm certain he'll make an important positive contribution in his new role with H.H.S. Mr. Obama had said in October that Mr. Zients, a former corporate management executive and administration official, was a temporary manager to oversee the overhaul of the website, HealthCare.gov. At the time, Mr. Zients was due to take over on Jan. 1 as director of Mr. Obama's National Economic Council, which would make him the chief White House economic adviser. But White House officials said on Monday that Mr. Zients would delay for a month his shift to the economic council, given the intensity of the past two months" effort in fixing the Web portal for the insurance marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act. The current director, Gene B. Sperling, will remain in place until February, seeing through policy initiatives for Mr. Obama's late-January State of the Union address, the annual budget and other pending projects. Ms. Sebelius commended Mr. Zients for his work on the website, saying it was "night and day from what it was when it launched on Oct. 1."