Aspen Forum 2020

FIONA ALEXANDER is a Distinguished Fellow in Residence at American University’s Internet Governance Lab and the founder of Salt Point Strategies. Ms. Alexander was the Associate Administrator for International Affairs at NTIA where she was the principal official responsible for the analysis, development, and execution of international Internet, cyber, and communications policy within the Executive Branch of the United States government. In 2017 she became NTIA’s sole winner of the Presidential Rank Award for her leadership in the two-decade effort to privatize the Internet’s domain name system (DNS). Ms. Alexander began her career as an intern at the U.S. Information Agency and spent two years as a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton, before beginning as Senior Telecommunications Policy Specialist at NTIA in 2000. She is a graduate of American University’s International Affairs master’s program.

JANE BAMBAUER is a Professor of Law at the University of Arizona. Prof. Bambauer’s research assesses the social costs and benefits of Big Data, and questions the wisdom of many well-intentioned privacy laws. Her articles have appeared in the Stanford Law Review, the Michigan Law Review, the California Law Review, and the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies. Prof. Bambauer’s own data-driven research explores biased judgment, legal education, and legal careers. She holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and B.S. in mathematics from Yale College.

THE HONORABLE BRENDAN CARR was nominated to serve as a Commissioner of the FCC by President Donald J. Trump, and he was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate in 2017. In 2019, Carr was nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve a new, five-year term. He focuses on regulatory reforms that will help create jobs and grow the economy for the benefit of all Americans. He is leading the FCC’s work to modernize the infrastructure rules governing the buildout of 5G and other next-gen networks. His reforms are predicted to cut billions of dollars in red tape and have already accelerated 5G builds—helping to bring more broadband to more Americans. By updating our country’s infrastructure rules, he’s helped extend U.S. leadership in 5G and ensured that rural America has a fair shot at next generation connectivity. A graduate of Georgetown University, Commissioner Carr clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for Judge Dennis W. Shedd. He graduated magna cum laude from law school at the Catholic University of America where he served as an editor of the Catholic University Law Review.

MIGNON CLYBURN is a Principal at MLC Strategies, LLC where she provide strategic advice and critical solutions in the technology, media, telecommunications and investor owned utility industries. Clyburn was sworn in for her first term as commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission on August 3, 2009, sworn in for a second term on February 19, 2013, and served until June 6, 2018. She also served as Acting FCC Chairwoman from May 20, 2013 through November 4, 2013. While at the FCC, Commissioner Clyburn was committed to closing the digital divide. Specifically, she was an advocate for Lifeline Modernization, which assists low income consumers defray the cost of broadband service, championed diversity in media ownership, initiated Inmate calling services reforms, emphasized diversity and inclusion in STEM opportunities, and fought to preserve a free and open internet. Prior to the FCC, she spent 11 years serving on the Public Service Commission (PSC) of South Carolina. Prior to the PSC, Clyburn was the publisher and general manager of the Coastal Times, a Charleston- based weekly newspaper that focused primarily on issues affecting the African American community for 14 years. She holds a B.S. in banking, finance, and economics from the University of South Carolina.

IAN CONNER is Director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission. Ian joined the FTC as Deputy Director of the Bureau of Competition in 2017 from private practice. Prior to his time in private practice, Ian began his career in the Honors Program at the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, and later served as a staff attorney in the Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture Section of the Division. He earned a J.D. from William & Mary Law School and B.A. from Washington and Lee University.

CATHERINE DE FONTENAY commenced as a full time Commissioner with the Productivity Commission in July of 2019. After completing her PhD in 1998 at Stanford University, Catherine taught at the University of New South Wales. She joined the University of Melbourne in 2001, and held roles in the Business School and the Economics Department. She has held visiting positions at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford University, and the Stern School of Business, New York University. Most recently she was an Associate Professor of Economics at the Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne. Her research has been published in a number of international journals, including the American Economic Review, the RAND Journal of Economics, and the Journal of Industrial Economics. In competition economics, her research has focused on firm-to-firm negotiations, and how mergers or exclusive dealing contracts will affect negotiated outcomes. She has also researched topics from organisational economics and development economics.

NEIL FRIED brings more than 25 years of experience in the public and private sectors on media and technology law. In January 2020 he launched DigitalFrontiers Advocacy, which works to advance respect for the First Amendment, intellectual property, free markets, and the rule of law as mutually reinforcing pillars of creativity, innovation, and economic growth in a democratic society. Prior to starting DigitalFrontiers Advocacy, he spent close to seven years as SVP for Government and Regulatory Affairs at the Motion Picture Association. Neil joined the MPA in 2013 from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he served nearly a decade as chief counsel on media and technology issues. Before his work on the Hill, Neil represented clients before Congress and the Federal Communications Commission while at the D.C. offices of two law firms: first Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, and then Paul Hastings. Neil helped implement the 1996 Telecommunications Act as an attorney with the FCC from 1996 to 2000. Before coming to the FCC, he was a John S. and James L. Knight Fellow at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Neil received a J.D. from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis and B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University.

JASON FURMAN is Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy jointly at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and the Department of Economics at Harvard University. He is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. This followed eight years as a top economic adviser to President Obama, including serving as the 28th Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from August 2013 to January 2017, acting as both President Obama’s chief economist and a member of the cabinet. During this time Furman played a major role in most of the major economic policies of the Obama Administration. Previously Furman held a variety of posts in public policy and research. In public policy, Furman worked at both the Council of Economic Advisers and National Economic Council during the Clinton administration and also at the World Bank. In research, Furman was a Director of the Hamilton Project and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and also has served in visiting positions at various universities, including NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Policy. Furman has conducted research in a wide range of areas, including fiscal policy, tax policy, health economics, Social Security, technology policy, and domestic and international macroeconomics. In addition to articles in scholarly journals and periodicals, Furman is the editor of two books on economic policy. Furman holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.

BRUNO GENCARELLI heads the International Data flows and Protection Unit at the European Commission. He led the Commission’s work in the area of data protection in the decisive phases of the legislative reform and the EU-US negotiations. In that capacity, he headed the Commission’s delegation in the interinstitutional negotiations with the European Parliament and the Council that resulted in the adoption of the EU data protection reform (“General Data Protection Regulation” and “Law Enforcement Directive”). He was also one of the lead negotiators of the EU-US Privacy Shield and “Umbrella Agreement”. He recently negotiated the mutual adequacy arrangement with Japan. Mr. Gencarelli previously served as a member of the European Commission’s Legal Service and as an assistant (référendaire) to a judge at the European Court of Justice after having practiced law in the private sector. He holds degrees in law and political science, and teaches EU Competition Law at Sciences Po Paris. He is the author of numerous publications on EU law.

KELLY GILLIS was appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) in January, 2015. In this role, she provides leadership and policy advice on key sectors, with a particular focus on the digital economy, telecommunications policy and regulation, tourism and small business. She also plays a principal role in many of the department’s policy matters, such as Connect to Innovate, Canada’s new Tourism Vision, and defence procurement. Prior to this appointment, Kelly served as Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Spectrum, Information Technologies and Telecommunications (SITT) Sector. At SITT, Kelly supported the development and use of world-class information and communications technologies, including management and oversight of Canada’s radio spectrum frequencies, research at the Communications Research Centre, cyber security and Connecting Canadians. Kelly holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Graduate Diploma in Public Accounting from McGill University and is also a qualified chartered accountant.

ALEXANDRA REEVE GIVENS is CDT’s President & CEO, and an advocate for using technology to increase equality, amplify voices, and promote human rights. Prior to joining CDT, Alex served as the founding Executive Director of the Institute for Technology Law & Policy at Georgetown Law. While at Georgetown, she was a founding leader of the university’s Initiative on Tech & Society. Alex previously served as Chief Counsel for IP and Antitrust on the Senate Judiciary Committee. She developed legislative and oversight strategy on matters including patent reform, federal trade secrets legislation, net neutrality, First Amendment issues surrounding online speech, access to medicines, and oversight of mergers and antitrust policy. Alex began her career as a litigator at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City, and taught for five years as an adjunct professor at Columbia University School of Law. Alex serves on the Board of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and is a mayoral appointee on D.C.’s Innovation and Technology Inclusion Council. She holds J.D. from Columbia University School of Law and a B.A. from Yale University.

ERIC GOLDMAN is a Professor of Law and Co-Director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law, Co-Director of the High Tech Law Institute and Supervisor of the Privacy Law Certificate. His research and teaching focuses on Internet law. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor at Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, WI, General Counsel of Epinions, Inc. and Internet lawyer at Cooley Godward LLP. Goldman received his B.A., summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, in Economics/Business from UCLA in 1988. He received his J.D. from UCLA in 1994, where he was a member of the UCLA Law Review, and concurrently received his MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA.

AMBASSADOR DAVID A. GROSS is a Partner in Wiley Rein’s Telecom, Media & Technology Practice. He advises companies and others on international and domestic telecoms, internet, and high-tech strategy focusing on both specific markets and international organizations. Gross is the former U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy at the U.S. Department of State. During his tenure at the State Department, Ambassador Gross had overall responsibility for the formulation and advocacy of international communications policy for the United States. Prior to this position, he served as Washington counsel to AirTouch Communications (now Vodafone) and was in private law practice. Gross received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and J.D. from Columbia Law School.

ROBERT HAHN is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Technology Policy Institute. He is also a visiting professor and former director of economics at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, Oxford University and a senior fellow at the Georgetown University Center for Business and Public Policy. He also is co-founder of The Behavioralist and Signol, two companies that use behavioral economics and evidence-based policy making to promote the social good. Bob worked at the American Enterprise Institute for two decades. While there, he co-founded and directed the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, a leader in policy research in law and economics, regulation, and antitrust. Previously, he worked for the U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisers and was the chief economist on the White House drafting team for the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. Bob also has served on the faculties of Harvard University and Carnegie Mellon University. He served as a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Evidence- Based Policymaking and is currently working with key decision makers on ways to promote evidence-based policy.

KARL HERCHENROEDER is a tech reporter for Communications Daily who focuses on policy developments around Capitol Hill. For the past three years, he’s reported on legislative action related to Section 230, privacy and tech antitrust. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland.

CERI HOWES is the Head of Regulatory at Opensignal. Prior to her appointment at Opensignal, she was Senior Market Engagement Manager for the Digital Identity Programme at GSMA. There she worked with mobile operators, governments and NGOs to bring Digital Identity services to scale and facilitate industry collaboration in developing the Digital Identity ecosystem. Prior to this, she worked in the GSMA’s Spectrum team as the Policy Advisor for Africa and the Middle East, working with ministries and regulators across the region on spectrum policy, mobile broadband and last-mile connectivity issues. She holds an MSc in Globalisation and Development from London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and earned B.A. degrees in International Relations and Business from the University of Redlands in California.

LARRY IRVING is the President and CEO of the Irving Group, a consulting firm providing strategic advice and assistance to international telecommunications and information technology companies, foundations and non-profit organizations. From September, 2009 to July, 2011, Mr. Irving served as Vice President for Global Government Affairs for the Hewlett-Packard Company. Mr. Irving is widely credited with coining the term the digital divide and sparking global interest in the issue. In large part due to his work to promote policies and develop programs to ensure access to advanced telecommunications and information technologies, Mr. Irving was named one of the fifty most influential persons in the ‘Year of the Internet’ by Newsweek Magazine. He previously served nearly 7 years as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information in the Clinton Administration, addressing social and economic issues through enhancements of telecommunications and information technology policy. Larry received a B.A. from Northwestern University, and is a recipient of the University’s Alumni Merit Award for distinguished professional achievement. He is also a graduate of Stanford University School of Law, where he was elected President of his graduating class.

ANDREA JELINEK is head of the Austrian Data Protection Authority as of January 1, 2014. While still a student, she worked as a consultant at the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), later as a trainee lawyer and from 1991 as a legal officer at the General Secretariat of the Austrian Rectors’ Conference. Two years later, she moved to the Ministry of the Interior, where she first worked as a legal officer and later as head of department in the legal and legislative department. One of her specializations – asylum and immigration law – helped determine her further career. From October 2010 to June 2011 she was head of the Vienna Foreign Police. Before that, in 2003, she was the first woman in Vienna to be appointed head of a police commissioner’s office. Since February 2018, she has also been the Chair of the Article 29 Working Party.

AYNNE KOKAS is an Associate Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia. Kokas’ work focuses on the intersections between Chinese and US media and technology industries. Her book, Hollywood Made in China, examines the cultural, political and economic implications of US media investment in China as it becomes the world’s largest film market. Kokas’ current project Border Control on the Digital Frontier: China, the United States, and the Global Battle for Data Security examines how Chinese cybersecurity policies are establishing new global standards for the movement of data, aided by the support of US capital markets, the buy-in of US companies, and the neglect of US policymakers. She was a consultant for Warner Bros. Digital, in addition to a range of other Fortune 500 technology, financial services and manufacturing companies. She has been a visiting fellow at the Shanghai Institute of International Studies and a visiting professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and a Fulbright Scholar at East China Normal University. Kokas is currently a non-resident scholar in Chinese media at the Baker Institute of Public Policy at Rice University, a term member in the Council on Foreign Relations, and a fellow in the Public Intellectuals Program of the National Committee on US-China Relations. She is fluent in Mandarin and began her career in Chinese media by studying directing at Beijing Film Academy.

THOMAS LENARD is Senior Fellow and President Emeritus at the Technology Policy Institute. Lenard is the author or coauthor of numerous books and articles on telecommunications, electricity, antitrust, privacy, e-commerce and other regulatory issues. His publications include Net Neutrality or Net Neutering: Should Broadband Internet Services Be Regulated?; The Digital Economy Fact Book; Privacy and the Commercial Use of Personal Information; Competition, Innovation and the Microsoft Monopoly: Antitrust in the Digital Marketplace; and Deregulating Electricity: The Federal Role. Before joining the Technology Policy Institute, Lenard was acting president, senior vice president for research and senior fellow at The Progress & Freedom Foundation. He has served in senior economics positions at the Office of Management and Budget, the Federal Trade Commission and the Council on Wage and Price Stability, and was a member of the economics faculty at the University of California, Davis. He is a past president and chairman of the board of the National Economists Club. Lenard is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and holds a Ph.D. in economics from Brown University.

JUDITH MARISCAL is Professor at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) and Director of the Telecommunications Research Program (Telecom-CIDE). Telecom-CIDE has been creating and disseminating knowledge on ICT for development for the past fifteen years. She is a member at the highest level (III) of the National Research System in Mexico (SNI), and member of the Steering Committee of the Regional Dialogue on the Information Society (DIRSI), as well as the Communications Policy Research Conference (CPR-LATAM). Judith is Associate Editor of Information Technologies and International Development (ITID), former member of the Board of Advisors of the telecommunications regulatory agency COFETEL, and former Director of the Public Policy and Administration Division at CIDE. Judith Mariscal has participated in numerous ICT research projects at the national and international level. She has published extensively on telecommunications regulatory policies. She has authored the books: Licitación 21: Public Policy Lessons in Telecommunications, (CIDE 2014, Editor), Digital Poverty: Prospects for Latin America and the Caribbean, (CIDE 2009, co-editor with Hernan Galperín) and Unfinished Business: Telecommunications Reform in Mexico (Praeger Press 2002.) Mariscal holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin.

LAURA MARTIN received her B.A. from Stanford and her MBA from Harvard Business School, and she is a CFA and CMT. Martin began her career at Drexel Burnham Lambert in media investment banking, followed by Capital Research & Management, where she advised $100 billion and managed a $500 million portfolio of media stocks. She moved to Credit Suisse First Boston in 1994 as the senior media analyst, where she was nationally ranked by Institutional Investor between 1999 and 2001. In 2002, Martin moved to Paris to become EVP of Financial Strategy and Investor Relations for Vivendi Universal. In 2004, she founded Media Metrics, LLC publishing equity research on the largest entertainment, cable and Internet stocks in the U.S., where she was nationally ranked as “Best of the Independent Research Boutiques” by Institutional Investor for many years. In 2009, Martin moved to Needham & Company, where she publishes research on the largest Internet and Entertainment companies.

KEVIN MAYER was the CEO of TikTok and COO of its parent company ByteDance Ltd until his resignation on August 26, 2020. Prior to his appointment as TikTok CEO, Mayer was the Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer & International division of The Walt Disney Company. He was previously the senior executive vice president and chief strategy officer of Disney where he managed their acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox. He also directed the divestitures of Miramax and ABC Radio.

ROBERT MCDOWELL is co-chair of Cooley’s global communications practice group and he advises telecommunications, media and technology clients on their most significant regulatory, legal and business matters. As a former commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission and a highly regarded industry leader, Rob has been at the forefront of the most complex and groundbreaking issues facing telecommunications. Rob was first appointed to the FCC by President George W. Bush in 2006 and again by President Obama in 2009. He was unanimously confirmed both times by the US Senate. During his tenure, Rob led efforts to expand consumer access to spectrum through his work on the two largest wireless auctions in US history at the time, played a key role in the 2009 digital television transition and led efforts to establish the first federal civil rights rule in a generation by creating a ban on racially discriminatory practices in broadcast advertising. While at the FCC, Rob also worked extensively on several large and complex mergers, including: Sirius/XM; Comcast/NBC-Universal; Verizon/AllTel; AT&T/Dobson; Sprint/Clearwire; Verizon/SpectrumCO and AT&T/T-Mobile. At Cooley, he represents clients on transformative deals before the FCC, Congress, the White House and other regulatory bodies.

CHRISTINA MONTGOMERY is Chief Privacy Officer and Vice President at IBM. As Chief Privacy Officer, Christina oversees IBM’s privacy program, compliance and strategy on a global basis, and directs all aspects of IBM’s privacy policies. She also chairs IBM’s AI Ethics Board, a multi-disciplinary team responsible for the governance and decision-making process for AI ethics policies and practices. From 2013-2018, Christina served as IBM’s Managing Attorney, overseeing the Law Department’s strategic and transformational initiatives, hiring and recruiting, professional development, budget management, and other projects on a worldwide basis. Christina joined IBM in 1994 as an attorney supporting IBM Sales and served in a variety of other positions throughout the Law Department. Ms. Montgomery received a B.A. from Binghamton University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

LEAH NYLEN covers antitrust and investigations for POLITICO Pro. Before joining POLITICO, Leah spent eight years covering antitrust at MLex. She has also worked for Bloomberg and Congressional Quarterly and was selected as an Abe Journalist Fellow in 2014 for a reporting project in Japan on price-fixing cartels and cartel deterrence policies.

SARAH OH is a Research Fellow at the Technology Policy Institute. Oh completed her PhD in Economics from George Mason University, and holds a JD from GMU and a BS in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. She was previously the Operations and Research Director for the Information Economy Project at George Mason School of Law. She has also presented research at the 39th Telecommunications Policy Research Conference and has co-authored work published in the Northwestern Journal of Technology & Intellectual Property among other research projects. Her research interests include law and economics, regulatory analysis, and technology policy.

MAUREEN K. OHLHAUSEN was sworn in as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission on April 4, 2012. She served as Acting FTC Chairman from January 2017 until April 2018. Prior to her most recent tenure with the Commission, Ohlhausen was a partner at Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP, where she focused on FTC issues, including privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity. Ohlhausen previously served at the Commission for 11 years. Ohlhausen graduated with distinction from Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University in 1991 and graduated with honors from the University of Virginia in 1984. Ohlhausen was on the adjunct faculty at the Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, where she taught privacy law and unfair trade practices. She served as a Senior Editor of the Antitrust Law Journal and a member of the American Bar Association Task Force on Competition and Public Policy.

TOM ORLIK is Chief Economist for Bloomberg Economics, leading on analysis of the world economy and managing the global team. Prior to that he was the Chief Asia economist for Bloomberg, headed the WSJ’s China economy coverage, and worked as a policy analyst at HM-Treasury. His book Understanding China’s Economic Indicators was published by Pearson in summer 2011, and provides the first comprehensive guide to working with China’s economic data.

AJIT PAI is the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. The son of Indian immigrants to the United States, Pai grew up in Parsons, Kansas. He studied social studies at Harvard University, then earned a law degree at the University of Chicago Law School. He worked as a lawyer in various offices of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, with a two-year stint as an in-house lawyer for Verizon Communications. He joined the FCC as a lawyer in its Office of General Counsel in 2007. He was nominated to be a commissioner in 2011 by President Barack Obama, who followed tradition in preserving balance on the commission by accepting the recommendation of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate on May 7, 2012, and was sworn in on May 14, 2012, for a five-year term. In January 2017, newly inaugurated president Donald Trump designated Pai as FCC Chairman. He is the first Indian American to hold the office. In March 2017, Trump announced that he would renominate Pai to serve another five-year term. Pai was confirmed by the U.S. Senate for an additional five-year term on October 2, 2017.

JEFFREY PRINCE is Professor and Chair of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. He is also the Harold A. Poling Chair in Strategic Management and Co-Director of the Institute for Business Analytics at Kelley. He recently served as Chief Economist at the Federal Communications Commission. His primary focus is on technology markets and telecommunications, having published works on dynamic demand for computers, Internet adoption and usage, the inception of online/offline product competition, and telecom bundling. His research also encompasses topics such as household-level risk aversion, airline quality competition, and regulation in healthcare and real estate markets. His works have appeared in top general interest journals in both economics and management, including the American Economic Review, the International Economic Review, Management Science, and the Academy of Management Journal. He has also published in top journals in industrial organization, including the Journal of Industrial Economics, Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, and the International Journal of Industrial Organization. He is currently a co-editor at the Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, and is on the board of editors at Information Economics and Policy. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Northwestern University.

KENNETH PROPP is a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative, and consults for technology companies on transatlantic digital and privacy law and policy issues. He also is a contributor to the Lawfare blog. From 2016-2018, Professor Propp was director of trade policy for BSA | The Software Alliance, an association of major software companies. From 2011-2015, he served as Legal Counselor at the U.S. Mission to the European Union, in Brussels, Belgium, where he led U.S. Government engagement with the EU on digital and privacy law and policy, and participated in U.S.-EU trade negotiations. Previously, as a career senior attorney in the Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State, Professor Propp specialized in legal issues relating to international criminal law and international trade and investment law. In 2016, he taught European Union law as an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University School of Law. He also served as legal adviser to the U.S. Embassy in Germany. Professor Propp holds a J.D from Harvard Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College.

EDITH RAMIREZ is co-head of the Antitrust and Competition practice and a partner in the Privacy and Cybersecurity practice at Hogan Lovells. former Chairwoman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). She has long been a strong presence in the international competition and privacy arena.
Edith joined the FTC as a commissioner in April 2010 and served as FTC Chairwoman from 2013 to January 2017. During her tenure, she focused on promoting competition – particularly in the technology and life sciences sectors – safeguarding consumer privacy and data security, and protecting vulnerable communities from deceptive and unfair practices. While at the FTC, Edith worked with corporate leaders and key policy makers, and joined discussions with antitrust enforcers and privacy and data protection regulators from all over the world. Prior to joining the Commission, Ramirez was a partner in the Los Angeles office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP. Ramirez holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and B.A. in History from Harvard University.

ALAN RAUL is the founder and leader of Sidley’s highly ranked Privacy and Cybersecurity practice. He represents companies on federal, state and international privacy, cybersecurity and digital technology issues. He handles consumer class actions, enforcement matters, and public policy involving the FTC, State Attorneys General, SEC, FCC, Department of Justice, international data protection authorities and other government agencies. He previously served as Vice Chairman of the White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, General Counsel of the Office of Management and Budget, General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Associate Counsel to the President. Alan serves as a member of the Technology Litigation Advisory Committee of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center (affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce). He also serves on the American Bar Association’s Cybersecurity Legal Task Force by appointment of the ABA President, and as a member of the Practising Law Institute’s Privacy Law Advisors Group. He is a member of the governing Board of Directors of the Future of Privacy Forum. Alan is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. The Washingtonian has named Alan one of Washington, D.C.’s Best Lawyers: Cybersecurity, and the National Law Journal named him a “Cyber Security Trailblazer.” Alan is a founding member of Checks and Balances, a group of conservative lawyers dedicated to speaking up in defense of the rule of law regardless of the party or persons in power.

MATT RIDLEY‘s books have sold over a million copies, been translated into 31 languages and won several awards. His books include The Red Queen, The Origins of Virtue, Genome, Nature via Nurture, Francis Crick, The Rational Optimist and The Evolution of Everything. He writes a weekly column in The Times (London) and writes regularly for the Wall Street Journal. As Viscount Ridley, he was elected to the House of Lords in February 2013. He served on the science and technology select committee 2014-2017. He founded the Mind and Matter column in the Wall Street Journal in 2010. He won the Hayek Prize in 2011, the Julian Simon award in 2012 and the Free Enterprise Award from the Institute of Economic Affairs in 2014. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is honorary president of the International Centre for Life in Newcastle. With BA and DPhil degrees from Oxford University, Matt Ridley worked for the Economist for nine years as science editor, Washington correspondent and American editor, before becoming a self-employed writer and businessman. He has honorary doctorates from Buckingham University, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and University Francisco Marroquin, Guatemala.

MITCH ROSE serves as Executive Vice President in Federal Government Affairs for Comcast Corporation, overseeing the company’s interactions with the federal government across the legislative and executive branches, including Congress and the Administration. As head of the Comcast Washington, D.C. office, Mitch also oversees the company’s regulatory relationships with the FCC among other agencies. Mitch previously served as Senior Vice President, Federal Government Affairs for Comcast, overseeing the company’s legislative affairs. Prior to that, he led federal government affairs for NBCUniversal. Prior to joining Comcast NBCUniversal, Mitch led Mitch Rose Strategic Consulting LLC and represented a variety of entertainment, telecommunications and other clients.Rose spent over fifteen years on Capitol Hill working for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Robert J. Dole. From 1997 to 2000, he was Chief of Staff to Senator Ted Stevens (R – Alaska), then-Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, managing a staff of more than 30. He served as the Senator’s principal liaison with the Commerce Committee on all telecommunications and transportation issues and his chief advisor on political matters. Prior to joining Stevens’ staff, Mitch was a legislative aide for Congressman Don Young (R – Alaska). Mitch earned a J.D. degree from the Washington College of Law at American University and a B.A. from the University of Washington in Seattle.

GREGORY L. ROSSTON is Director of the Public Policy program at Stanford University, the Gordon Cain Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, and Professor of Economics (by courtesy). He teaches Economics and Public Policy courses on competition policy and strategy, intellectual property, and writing and rhetoric. Dr. Rosston served as Deputy Chief Economist at the Federal Communications Commission working on the implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and helped to design and implement the first ever spectrum auctions in the United States. He co-chaired the Economy, Globalization and Trade committee for the Obama campaign and was a member of the Obama transition team on economic agency review and energy policy. He served as a member and co-chair of the Department of Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee from 2010 – 2014. He has served as a consultant to various organizations including the World Bank and the Federal Communications Commission, and as a board member and advisor to high technology, financial, and startup companies. Dr. Rosston received his Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University and his A.B. with Honors in Economics from University of California at Berkeley.

SAMM SACKS is a Cybersecurity Policy and China Digital Economy Fellow at New America. Her research focuses on emerging information and communication technology (ICT) policies globally, particularly in China. She has worked on Chinese technology policy issues for over a decade, both with the U.S. government and in the private sector. She leads New America’s Data & Great Power Competition project, which looks at the relationship between geopolitics and emerging rules for who harnesses the value of data. She runs New America’s New York China Tech Roundtable series and is a frequent contributor the DigiChina project, publishing translations and analysis of the latest developments in Chinese tech policy. Her reports and commentaries cover issues ranging from the U.S.-China technology relationship, the Chinese government’s technology ambitions, China’s cybersecurity regulatory environment (particularly data issues), and the global expansion of Chinese tech companies. Her articles have appeared in the Atlantic and Foreign Affairs, among other outlets. She has testified before Congress and speaks regularly before audiences from academia and research, policy, and the private sector. A former Fulbright scholar in Beijing, Sacks holds an M.A. from Yale University in international relations and a B.A. from Brown University in Chinese literature.

AMBASSADOR MIRIAM SAPIRO is Co-Head of Sard Verbinnen & Co’s Washington D.C. office and Vice Chair of SVC Public Affairs. In this role, Miriam focuses on public affairs and strategic communications with respect to cross-border transactions, litigation and regulatory issues. Miriam has more than 25 years of experience in government and the private sector, including navigating high-stakes crises and providing strategic advice to companies and organizations on a range of policy and regulatory challenges. She served in the administrations of Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Obama, working at the State Department, the National Security Council and the White House. Upon confirmation by the Senate as Ambassador, she served as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative and Acting U.S. Trade Representative. She was a senior member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and on the Board of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Miriam serves on the Supervisory Board of the Lufthansa Group and the Board of Project HOPE. She is on the Panel of Conciliators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes at the World Bank.

HONORABLE REBECCA KELLY SLAUGHTER was sworn in as a Federal Trade Commissioner on May 2, 2018. Prior to joining the Commission, she served as Chief Counsel to Senator Charles Schumer of New York, the Democratic Leader. A native New Yorker, she advised Leader Schumer on legal, competition, telecom, privacy, consumer protection, and intellectual property matters, among other issues. Prior to joining Senator Schumer’s office, Ms. Slaughter was an associate in the D.C. office of Sidley Austin LLP. Ms. Slaughter received her B.A. in Anthropology magna cum laude from Yale University. She received her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she served as an editor on the Yale Law Journal.”

ANDREW SMITH is Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. He came to the FTC from the law firm of Covington & Burling, where he co-chaired the financial services practice group. Earlier in his career, Mr. Smith was a staff attorney at the FTC, where he led the agency’s efforts to make several rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Mr. Smith has written extensively on consumer protection and financial services issues, served as the Chair of the American Bar Association’s Consumer Financial Services Committee, and is a Fellow of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers and the American Bar Foundation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Williams College, and a J.D. from William & Mary Law School, where he served as Professional Articles Editor of the William & Mary Law Review.

THE HONORABLE GEOFFREY STARKS has been a champion for the millions of Americans who lack access to or cannot afford a home internet connection. As a native Kansan, he understands the communications needs of rural America. He has consistently advocated for broadband deployment that helps rural communities tap into economic and educational opportunities that may not be close to home, which both encourages young people to stay and attracts new residents and employers. Bringing a wealth of enforcement experience to the Commission, Commissioner Starks advocates for consumer protection and accountability, particularly in managing the Universal Service Fund. Before he was appointed Commissioner, Starks helped lead the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, handling a wide variety of complex investigations. At the Department of Justice, he served as a senior advisor to the Deputy Attorney General on a variety of domestic and international law enforcement matters and received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service—the highest honor award a DOJ employee can receive. Before he entered federal public service, Commissioner Starks practiced law at Williams & Connolly, clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, served as a legislative staffer in the Illinois State Senate, and worked as a financial analyst. Commissioner Starks graduated from Harvard College with high honors and Yale Law School.

BRIAN SULLIVAN is anchor of CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange.” He is also Senior National Correspondent for the network, covering some of the nation’s biggest stories. Most recently, Sullivan was co-anchor of CNBC’s “Power Lunch.” In his 20 years of financial journalism and television experience, Sullivan has reported from five continents. He has been twice nominated for the prestigious Loeb Award; one for being recognized as among the first financial journalists to highlight the risks of the housing bubble in 2007, and the other for the 2013 CNBC documentary “America’s Gun: The Rise of the AR-15.” Prior to CNBC, Sullivan served as an anchor at Fox Business News as well as a producer, reporter and anchor for Bloomberg Television. Sullivan has a B.A. in political science from Virginia Tech, where he serves on the Alumni Board, as well as a law degree from Brooklyn Law School.

JAMIE SUSSKIND is the Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs for the Consumer Technology Association. In that role, she coordinates CTA’s advocacy strategy and represents the association before Federal agencies and the Administration for policies to encourage the growth of innovative consumer technologies. She joined CTA from the Federal Communications Commission, where she was Chief of Staff for Commissioner Brendan Carr, as well as a Legal Advisor and Attorney-Advisor in the Wireline Competition Bureau. Susskind was a detailee for the Senate Commerce Committee under Chairman John Thune, and Chief Counsel to Senator Deb Fischer. She began her career as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Mary J. Schoelen at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Susskind received a B.A. from the University of Michigan, and a J.D. from the George Mason University School of Law.

RAHUL TELANG is professor of Information Systems and Management at the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University and at the Tepper School of Business. Professor Telang’s is broadly interested in how Information and Communication Technologies and associated digitization of information impact consumers, business and policies. He was the recipient of Sloan Foundation Industry Study fellowship and a number of Google Faculty awards. He is a co-director of a center IDEA (Initiative for Digital Entertainment Analytics). He has worked extensively with industry and policy makers on variety of issue surrounding digitization of Media. He also does extensive consulting on this topic and has written a popular book. His second area of work is on economics of information security and privacy. His key interest is in understanding the incentives of various parties (users, firms and hackers), why markets fail, how to create a useful policy framework and how to measure the effectiveness of such policies. Currently, he is working on a large NSA funded project on examining home users’ security and privacy behavior. Dr. Telang has published extensively in many top management and policy journals like Management Science, Marketing Science, MIS Quarterly, Journal of Industrial Economics, Journal of Policy and Management, and NBER chapters. He held senior editor positions at Information Systems Research and MIS Quarterly. He works closely with Warner Brothers on their Home Entertainment business strategy including pricing, streaming and licensing strategies. Currently he is also the director of the Ph.D. program at the Heinz College.

BRYAN TRAMONT is Managing Partner at Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP. As the firm’s managing partner, he offers strategic counsel to Fortune 100 companies and trade associations, as well as small and mid-sized telecommunications and media companies, on all aspects of communications law and regulation. He regularly advises companies as they develop and evaluate new business opportunities in the technology, media, and telecommunications sectors. Before joining WBK, Tramont served as Chief of Staff of the Federal Communications Commission under Chairman Michael Powell. Prior to being elevated to Chief of Staff, Tramont served as Chairman Powell’s Senior Legal Advisor, as well as prior stints as Senior Legal Advisor to Commissioners Kathleen Abernathy and Harold Furchtgott-Roth. He currently is an adjunct law professor in Catholic University of America’s Communications Law Institute and a senior adjunct fellow at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Tramont serves on the Commerce Department Spectrum Management Advisory Committee and previously co-chaired the Committee for three years. He is on the Board of Trustees at William Woods University and has served in numerous leadership positions for the Federal Communications Bar Association, including President for 2010- 2011. He holds a B.A. from George Washington University and J.D. from Yale Law School.

CATHERINE TUCKER is the Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management and a Professor of Marketing at MIT Sloan. She is also Chair of the MIT Sloan PhD Program. Her research interests lie in how technology allows firms to use digital data and machine learning to improve performance, and in the challenges this poses for regulation. Tucker has particular expertise in online advertising, digital health, social media, and electronic privacy. Her research studies the interface between marketing, the economics of technology, and law. She has received the Jamieson Prize for Excellence in Teaching as well as being voted “Teacher of the Year” at MIT Sloan. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University and a BA from the University of Oxford.

HAL R. VARIAN is the Chief Economist at Google. Varian has been involved in many aspects of the company, including auction design, econometric analysis, finance, corporate strategy and public policy. He is also an Emeritus Professor at the University of California, Berkeley in three departments: business, economics, and information management, and a Fellow of the Guggenheim Foundation, the Econometric Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Varian has published numerous papers in economic theory, industrial organization, financial economics, econometrics and information economics. He is the co-author of a bestselling book on business strategy, Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy. He was Co-Editor of the American Economic Review and has taught at MIT, Stanford, Oxford, Michigan and other universities around the world. He received his S.B. degree from MIT and his M.A. in Mathematics and Ph.D. in Economics from UC Berkeley. Varian holds honorary doctorates from the University of Oulu, Finland and the University of Karlsruhe, Germany.

ANDREW WALLENSTEIN is President and Chief Media Analyst of Variety Intelligence Platform, a new extension of the Variety brand focused on market research. He has been with Variety since 2011, previously as Co-Editor-in-Chief. Wallenstein received the Luminary Award for Career Achievement from the Los Angeles Press Club in 2017. He was an on-air contributor for NPR’s All Things Considered for nearly a decade and also hosted the PBS series “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors” and TV Guide Channel’s “Square Off,” a weekly primetime series about the TV industry. Wallenstein has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe and Business Week. He was at The Hollywood Reporter from 2002 to 2010.

SCOTT WALLSTEN is President and Senior Fellow at the Technology Policy Institute and also a senior fellow at the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy. He is an economist with expertise in industrial organization and public policy, and his research focuses on competition, regulation, telecommunications, the economics of digitization, and technology policy. He was the economics director for the FCC’s National Broadband Plan and has been a lecturer in Stanford University’s public policy program, director of communications policy studies and senior fellow at the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a senior fellow at the AEI – Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies and a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, an economist at The World Bank, a scholar at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, and a staff economist at the U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisers. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University.

THE HONORABLE CHRISTINE S. WILSON was sworn in on September 26, 2018 as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. Wilson previously served at the FTC as Chairman Tim Muris’ Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush Administration, and as a law clerk in the Bureau of Competition while attending Georgetown University Law Center. In between her periods of service at the FTC, Wilson has practiced competition and consumer protection law both at law firms and as in-house counsel. When nominated, Wilson was serving as Senior Vice President — Legal, Regulatory & International for Delta Air Lines. Prior to joining Delta, Wilson was a member of the Washington DC antitrust practice groups of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and O’Melveny & Myers LLP. Early in her career, Wilson worked with former Assistant Attorney General James F. Rill at Collier Shannon Rill & Scott on a variety of competition law and policy initiatives, including the final report of the International Competition Policy Advisory Committee commissioned by Attorney General Janet Reno. Wilson graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Florida.

JOSHUA D. WRIGHT is University Professor and Executive Director of the Global Antitrust Institute at George Mason University. He is a leading scholar in antitrust law, economics, intellectual property, and consumer protection. Wright served as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 2013 to 2015. In this role, he led efforts to reach an agreement with fellow commissioners to release the FTC’s first-ever guidelines on how the agency plans to use its powers to police “”unfair”” competition by businesses. Professor Wright has published more than 70 articles and book chapters, co-authored a leading antitrust casebook, and edited several book volumes in the areas of antitrust law, economics, intellectual property, and consumer protection. Wright also served as Co-Editor of the Supreme Court Economic Review, a Senior Editor of the Antitrust Law Journal, and an Editor of the International Review of Law and Economics. Before his tenure at George Mason University, Professor Wright clerked for Judge James V. Selna of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

ALI YURUKOGLU is an Associate Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he teaches Data and Decisions in the first year of the MBA program. His research is in the area of industrial organization. Recently, he has used the tools of game theory and statistics to study pricing regulation in the cable and satellite television industry, and the effect of mergers between firms at different points on the supply chain. He received a BA in economics and mathematics from Northwestern University, and a PhD in economics from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

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