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Former Rep. Rick White Headed To TechNet
TechNet, Silicon Valley's bipartisan lobbying group, is expected to name former Rep. Rick White, R-WA, as its new CEO to fill a position left open when Roberta Katz left the group last summer. White is a co-founder of the Congressional Internet Caucus and fought to keep lawmakers from imposing regulations on the Internet, particularly restrictions on content.
Separately, TechNet's GOP political director, Lezlee Westine, may be heading to Washington to take a White House political post, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. Westine played a key role in winning Silicon Valley executives' support for President-elect George W. Bush. TechNet officials had no immediate comment.
President-elect Bush has appointed Karl Rove as senior adviser to the president. Rove will be responsible for the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison and the Office of Strategic Initiatives. Rove was Bush's chief campaign strategist.
In late March, Silicon Valley's political action committee, TechNet, sent a team to Texas to work with Rove on developing a fundraising plan that would include the backing of many prominent high-tech executives. Prior to his work with the campaign, he was president of Karl Rove and Co., an Austin-based public affairs firm that worked for candidates, non-partisan causes and non-profit groups.
The campaign's national political field director, Ken Mehlman, former chief of staff for Rep. Kay Granger, R-TX, is expected to work under Rove as director of the White House political office, the Dallas Morning News reported Thursday.
Techies Plan Inaugural Festivities
Meanwhile, TechNet and the Business Software Alliance are co-hosting an afternoon inaugural party following Bush's swearing-in ceremony Jan. 20. The party will be held at the Hay-Adams Hotel near the White House.
Other co-hosts of the party include Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Oracle, Intuit, Sun Microsystems, Apple, Agilent, Hewlett-Packard, Texas Instruments and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield And Byers (KPCB), according to The San Francisco Chronicle, Cisco CEO John Chambers and his wife, Elaine, are attending, as are KPCB partner Floyd Kvamme and his wife, Jean. Both Kvamme and Chambers are advisers to Bush's transition team.
Talking Tech With Bush
Chambers and Kvamme also are attending a technology meeting with Bush on Thursday. Joining them in Austin will be: Bill Rice, who handled Internet strategy for the Bush campaign: John Ackerly, a policy staff member for Bush; Dell Computer founder Michael Dell; Barksdale Group founder Jim Barksdale; Intel CEO Craig Barrett; Autodesk Chairman Carol Bartz; EMC CEO Dick Egan; Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina; IBM CEO Lou Gertsner; venture capitalist David Hanna; Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy; Jim Morgan, the CEO of Applied Materials; venture capitalist Steve Papermaster; Len Pomata, Oracle's senior vice president of business development; and ClickAction CEO Gregory Slayton. Education policy and the state of the high-tech economy are among the issues on the agenda.
Speaking For Senate Republicans: Ron Bonjean
Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott, R-MS, has named Ron Bonjean the press secretary in the leader's office, effective Jan. 8. "As we begin a new session of Congress, I look forward to having Ron as a valuable addition to our Senate team, with his tireless dedication and enthusiasm for communicating our Republican message of opportunity to the American people," Lott said.
Most recently, Bonjean was communications director for the House Republican Conference. Bonjean previously was the communications director for several members, including Reps. Michael Castle, R-DE, Kay Granger, R-TX, Jim Longley, R-ME, and Jay Kim, R-CA. President of the Republican Communications Association, Bonjean received his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a master's degree in journalism and public affairs from American University.
ITAA Reappoints Chairman, Taps Amazon Executive
Gary Greenfield, president and CEO of Merant, a global e-business software company based in Rockville, MD, has been chosen to serve a second term as board chairman of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA).
Under Greenfield's first two-year term as chairman, ITAA took the lead on high-tech issues like immigration and the high-tech workforce, information security, digital opportunity, Internet privacy and intellectual property.
ITAA also has announced that Paul Misener, Amazon.com's vice president of global policy, has been named president of ITAA's Information Services and E-Commerce Division Board.
Apple Taps Byer To Tackle Education
Apple Computer has hired David Byer to fill a newly created Washington, DC, position — senior manager of education strategic relations. Byer is currently the executive director of the Commission on Web-based Education, a congressionally appointed commission to study the affect of the Internet on education, and said he looks forward to using conclusions of the report in his new position. "My major focus will be to push the envelope on what is possible with education and technology," Byer said. "I'll be able to push the findings of the report." Previously Byer was vice president of government affairs at the Software and Information Industry Association, where he handled policy on a number of high-tech issues. Byer said his first love has always been education policy. "This position is tailor-made for me," he said. The Web Commission identified seven key points in its report on harnessing the learning power of the Internet, including removing regulatory barriers, expanding broadband access and improving teacher training.
Juno's CFO Jumps Ship
Rick Eaton, the chief financial officer of the Internet service provider Juno, will be leaving to pursue other interests, according to Silicon Alley Reporter. While an executive recruiting firm seeks his replacement, Juno senior vice president and corporate controller Harshan Bhangdia will serve as acting CFO.
"Rick has made many valuable contributions to Juno over the past four years, and I want to personally thank him for them," Charles Ardai, Juno's president and CEO, said in a statement, according to the magazine. "He leaves us with a seasoned and capable financial organization, and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors."
EFF To Grant Awards To 'Pioneers'
The Tenth Annual Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Awards will be presented in Boston at the 11th Conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy.
The ceremony will be held March 8, 2001, at the Boston Aquarium. Judges for the award include: Herb Brody, senior editor of Technology Review; Moira Gunn, host of National Public Radio's "Tech Nation;" Donna L. Hoffman, associate professor of Management at Vanderbilt University; Peter Neumann, principal scientist at SRI International; Drazen Pantic, media and technology director at New York University's Center for War, Peace And The News Media; Barbara Simons, former president of the Association for Computing Machinery; and Karen Schneider, technical director at the Shenendehowa Public Library in New York.
Calling All New Democrats
The New Democrat Network, the political arm of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, is looking to fill three positions, including policy director, communications director and deputy communications director.
 | - by Bara Vaida |
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