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ITAA Hires Two New Vice Presidents;
Bennett Tackles Privacy at Global Integrity
The Information Technology Association of America has hired Robert Cresanti as senior vice president of government affairs and general counsel, to replace Marc Pearl who left earlier this year. Cresanti formerly served as staff director of the Senate Banking Committee Subcommittee on Financial Institutions. He filled the same role on the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem. He also was counsel and legislative assistant to Sen. Robert Bennett, R-UT, chairman of the Republican Technology Task Force. Cresanti has worked on a wide variety of other high tech issues, including securities litigation reform. Robert "brings an outstanding grasp of the issues that are shaping our industry. He also has a track record that gives me every confidence that he can build on our recent successes in areas like digital signatures and employee stock options grants, turning ITAA's legislative priorities into practical legislative victories," said ITAA President Harris Miller. Cresanti is a 1991 graduate of the Baylor University School of Law and earned an undergraduate degree in political science and international economics from Austin College.
ITAA also hired Bartlett Cleland as VP of software and counsel. Bartlett was most recently director of the Institute for Policy Innovation's Center for Technology Freedom in Texas. Prior to that, he was counsel to Grover Norquist of the Americans for Tax Reform and the Internet Tax Commission, after spending several years as a staffer for Sen. John Ashcroft, R-MO.
The Senate's Y2K leader in 1999, Sen. Robert Bennett, R-UT, sees privacy remaining on the forefront of policy issues for the next decade, he told executives at Global Integrity, a Reston,VA-based computer security firm last Monday. "Privacy will go on and on and on, I think," he said, in response to a Global Integrity executive who thought privacy issues would be resolved during the next several years. Bennett said privacy is an emotional issue like consumerism and environmentalism, and hence won't die away. "When I started in the Senate, there was a wave of consumerism and Ralph Nader, and it took 15 years to crest. Environmentalism was the next emotional issue and the next one is privacy. You'll see groups coming together, spending money…that will influence elections, just as environmentalists" have impact elections, he said. Bennett was visiting Global Integrity as part of a bus tour arranged through CapNet, the DC region's high-tech lobbying association. Bennett was joined by Senate Republican staff and lobbyists from Microsoft and America Online during the bus tour. Other stops included Computer Associations and Capitol One.
CapNet also launched a busy fall schedule of fall receptions and fundraisers for members of Congress including Rep. Rick Boucher, D-VA, on Sept. 12; Sen. Spencer Abraham, R-MI, on Sept. 14; Rep. Tom Davis, R-VA, on Sept. 18; Sen. Rick Santorum, R-PA, on Sept. 21; Rep. Cal Dooley, D-CA, on Sept. 21; former Gov. George Allen, R-VA, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, Rep. Connie Morella, R-MD, and Rep. Heather Wilson, R-NM, on Oct. 5; and Rep. Jim Moran, D-VA, at a date to be named in October.
MP3.com has hired Margie Sullivan, a former aide to House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-MO, in its Washington office. Sullivan joins William Pitts, a former top lobbyist with Walt Disney. MP3.com also retained Seth Davidson, a partner at the law firm of Gleischman and Walsh. Pitts told National Journal magazine that his goal is to raise the visibility of copyright issues during the fall campaigns. "Candidates know it's important to a vital voting bloc, namely young voters," Pitts said. Meanwhile, MP3.com's vice president of relations with the recording industry, Joe Fleischer, left the company to join iCast as CEO of its online music division.
In other music industry news, the Recording Industry Association of America named Bruce Block as its senior vice president of technology. Block will be responsible for working with members of the worldwide technology community in all aspects of technology associated with protecting the musical property rights of artists, songwriters, publishers and labels from unauthorized use of their materials. Prior to joining the RIAA, Block served as the chief technology officer and vice president of business development for Musicmaker.com.
Gary McIntosh of the National Association of State Election Directors doubts that anyone will ever be able to vote for president on their home PC, because the security questions are likely to be too great to overcome. "I'm not sure (Internet voting) will ever happen on PC at home," McIntosh told congressional staff attending an Internet Caucus lunch on Internet voting last Wednesday. The panel discussing the issue included Eric Strada, an executive with Election.com, Joe Adler, president and CEO of VoteHere.net, Deborah Phillips of Voting Integrity Project and Tony Wilhelm of the Benton Foundation. It was moderated by Lorrie Faith Cranor of AT&T Laboratories. The general conclusion of the group was that Internet voting is still a number of years away.
Elizabeth Greer, political director at TechNet, has left after three-and-a-half years at the Silicon Valley lobbying group. Greer said in an e-mail note to colleagues that for now she will be caring for her new baby.
Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci, Lieutenant Governor Jane Swift and Lycos CEO Bob Davis kicked off the Governor's E-Government Task Force, a 60-member group of public and private sector high-tech experts last week. The aim of the group is to employ public and private best practices to improve and expand the state's Web site and e-government capabilities. "The goal is to create a full-service government that people can bring into their home or their business on their own schedule," said Cellucci in a statement. "The Commonwealth's enterprise portal will maximize the functions and information that can be accessed on-line, making the lion's share of essential state services available twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week."
Barry Diller, the Hollywood dealmaker who heads USA Networks, was named to The Washington Post Co.'s board of directors, a signal of the company's intensifying focus on its Internet future. The election of the 58-year-old Diller to The Post's board is not the precursor to any particular ventures between the District-based publishing and media company and Diller's USA Networks, according to Diller. "I'm there purely as a director," Diller said, according to one news report. Post Chairman and CEO Donald Graham said he had recruited Diller to tap his knowledge on a range of new and old media fields, including the electronic commerce businesses at USA Networks.
Pennsylvania's Justice Network recently appointed Linda Rosenberg to the position of director to head the intranet unit that connects the electronic databases of the state's criminal justice organizations to make information sharing easier. Only approved employees, such as state police officers, can access the system with a digital authorization certificate. Rosenberg's goal is to expand JNET to all 67 counties as well as municipal criminal justice agencies within the state. Aside from state agencies, only 14 counties in Pennsylvania participate in the network. Rosenberg received a master's from Robert Morris College in Pittsburgh and has served in the state's public sector for 10 years. Her last position was that of information technology manager for Pennsylvania's Commission on Crime and Delinquency, where she oversaw planning and management for all IT functions in an agency of 105 employees. From 1992 to 1997, Rosenberg was manager of PCCD's Computer Laboratory and Training Center.
Media Metrix Chairman and CEO Tod Johnson will hold the same position in the combined Internet analyst company created by its purchase of Jupiter Communications, which is expected to close later this month, the companies said Thursday. Media Metrix agreed to buy Jupiter in June for $368 million in stock. Jupiter Chairman and CEO Gene DeRose will become vice chairman, president and COO of the company, while Jupiter Financial Officer Jean Robinson will serve as CFO. Current Media Metrix CFO Tom Lynch plans to leave the company in early November to pursue an opportunity as COO with a financial services company. The new company will be organized into five business units, Media Metrix, AdRelevance, Jupiter Research, Jupiter Events and Jupiter Media Metrix International.
 | - by Bara Vaida |
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