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ITAA Official Leaves To Talk Tech For Law Firm; Ballmer The Hero?
After five years at the Information Technology Association of America, General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Marc Pearl is leaving to head up the technology policy practice at Shaw Pittman, a law firm with offices across the country. "After five incredibly challenging and exciting years working with a wonderful organization on the hottest and most exciting issues one could ever imagine, the time has come to move on. An opportunity has presented itself that will allow me to continue to work on e-commerce and technology policy within a comprehensive legal setting for clients looking for both corporate and government relations help," Pearl wrote in an e-mail to colleagues. At the firm, Pearl said he will be handling advocacy for information technology clients, but also will provide IT policy/government relations support for a broad range of clients in the telecommunications, finance, healthcare, aviation, real estate, energy, insurance and nonprofit sectors.
John Bentivoglio, former senior adviser to Attorney General Janet Reno on Internet crime and privacy issues, has left the Justice Department to become counsel at law firm Arnold and Porter. At the firm, Bentivoglio will handle intellectual property, technology, healthcare, food, drug, and medical device issues, as well as legislative and public policy concerns. At DOJ, Bentivoglio handled a number of cybercrime issues and served as the department's senior representative to the White House Working Group on E-Commerce. He was also Reno's chief privacy officer. Prior to Justice, Bentivoglio was a litigation associate at Miller Cassidy Larroca and Lewin and was a staff member at the Senate Judiciary committee when Sen. Joseph Biden, D-DE, was chairman.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain's, R-AZ, communications law specialist Lauren "Pete" Belvin is leaving the Hill to become a partner in the Washington-based law firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer, National Journal magazine reported. Belvin's title at Commerce was senior majority counsel at the Commerce committee, where she spent the past three-and-a-half years working for McCain. Prior to the Hill, Belvin spent 20 years at the Federal Communications Commission in various positions. At Wilkinson Barker, which specializes in communications, Belvin will continue to frequent the Hill and federal agencies. She said she would focus on emerging technology and Internet-related ventures.
On the evening of July 24, Sen. John Warner, R-VA, will be co-hosting a fundraiser for Sen. Conrad Burns, R-MT, along with the Information Technology Industry Council's head of government affairs, Phil Bond, Network Solutions Inc. Chairman Mike Daniels, CapNet Executive Director Tim Hugo, Microsoft Government Affairs Manager Kent Knutson, Gateway's Washington office head Donald McClellan and America Online Senior Vice President for Global and Strategic Policy George Vradenburg.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute said that attorney, writer, and policy analyst James DeLong has joined its staff as a Senior Fellow. Previously a CEI adjunct scholar, DeLong will be part of the team working on CEI's new Project on Technology & Innovation, which will focus on antitrust, intellectual property, the Internet and e-commerce, telecommunications, privacy, and other high-tech related issues. Prior to CEI, DeLong has served as vice president and general counsel of the National Legal Center for the Public Interest, research director of the Administrative Conference of the United States, assistant director for special projects in the Consumer Protection Bureau of the Federal Trade Commission, and staff analyst in the Office of Program Evaluation of the U.S. Bureau of the Budget. He also has been an independent consultant, lawyer and writer.
House Republican Conference Chair J.C. Watts, R-OK, and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-AZ, will launch a Web site at the Republican convention as part of an Internet campaign, titled "Talk to Us 2000" that will provide information about candidates they are campaigning for and participate in online chats with constituents in key districts and states like California. They'll even be conducting the online chats while they are on a bus en route to various districts to campaign. The site will also ask for input from constituents. "It's sort of a reformist message," said a Watts spokesman about the focus of the campaign.
Women.com Networks announced it will be sending several executives to cover both political conventions to discuss the Internet's impact on politics, how the candidates can earn the vote of wired women — who comprise among the most influential voting blocs. The Web site is covering the convention as part of a joint venture with Good Housekeeping to report on the role of women at the convention. There are a number of Web sites that will be featured during the conventions at an "Internet Alley."
After a six-month search, theglobe.com, a member of the NetCoalition, named Charles Peck as its new chief executive officer. Theglobe.com, a community Web site and business-to-business developer, has been struggling this year and it's two young co-founders Todd Krizelman and Stephan Paternot resigned as co-CEOs in late January. Krizelman and Paternot will stay with the company as co-vice chairmen of the board. Peck most recently was senior V.P. of marketing, product and organizational development at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. "Chuck Peck is an action, performance-oriented executive with a proven track record of delivering profits within advertising-based business models," Michael Egan, chairman of theglobe.com, said in a statement.
Congressman Adam Smith's, D-WA, communications and policy director. Ali Weise. will be taking a leave from her post to handle the press operation for the New Democrat Network at the Democrat National Convention. The New Democrats are planning several events including a high-tech policy roundtable during the convention.
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's tough-talking CEO recently showed off his neighborly side. He came to the rescue of a young Bellevue, WA, teenager, Shelby Neuland, who had lost her house and car keys at a local 4th of July parade, reported the Eastside Journal, a local paper covering the region where Microsoft's headquarters are located. According to the paper, Neuland had lost her keys early in the day, but in the afternoon a man, who didn't identify himself, called to say he'd found the keys and traced the tag numbers to Neuland. Neuland's mother asked the man to drop the keys off at friend's house. "`So this man pulled up in my driveway, got out and gave me the keys,'' says Dennis McCormack, Neuland's friend. "He did not give his name. He did not want any credit. He was driving a very plain greenish minivan, understated. It was Steve Ballmer the busiest man on the planet, helping someone out. This was a huge act of kindness.''
Twenty-three District of Columbia teenagers between the ages of 14 and 19, have reported for duty with ConnectDC2000, a project designed by Community Business Partner Vernard Gray to bridge the digital divide in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. The teens are learning computer skills, digital photography and videography to document the community history and experiences of their elders and produce Internet Web sites to record these stories. The program was put together with the support of companies and trade associations, including the Greater Washington Board of Trade, Microsoft and the Morino Institute, which is run by former software CEO Mario Morino.
The Indian CEO High Tech Council, a growing force in the Northern Virginia and DC area high-tech community, is launching a Mentorship Pillar program aimed at helping young people find mentors to assist them in entrepreneurial advice on start-ups and new careers. The first networking event begins July 27 at 6:30 p.m. at the Watergate in DC. The guest speaker of the evening will be Mario Morino.
Nicole Bennett will be leaving her associate director post at the Democratic Steering and Coordination Committee to join the staff of SpeakOut.com as director of activism, National Journal magazine reported. "It's entrepreneurial, a new company," said Bennett, who will be working on business development for the political Web site. At the Steering Committee, chaired by Sen. John Kerry, D-MA, and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-SD, Bennett was liaison to coalitions, association, government agencies and to the Clinton administration on healthcare, labor and seniors' and women's' issues.
House Majority Leader Richard Armey, R-TX, has hired Juliet Main as his new deputy press secretary. Main comes from the office of Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-WY, where she was systems administrator and Web master. She also handled legislative correspondence on agriculture and telecommunications.
PlanetGov.com, a Web site that provides information to government professionals, has hired Judy Welles, a 14-year veteran of the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty, National Journal magazine reported. Welles, who was the director of communications and public affairs at the pension insurance agency, will now be a world-life editor at PlanetGov.
MediaOne Group's former vice president of government relations, Susan Eid, is now serving as legal adviser to Federal Commissions Commissioner Michael Powell, National Journal magazine reported. Most recently, she was part of the army of lobbyists that lobbied the FCC on the AT&T MediaOne merger. As the deal was closed in mid-June, Eid was looking for a job and found one in Powell's office.
 | - by Bara Vaida |
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