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The Revolving Door In Action
by Heather Greenfield, with Sarah Lai Stirland contributing
David Meyer is headed back to the Justice Department antitrust division, only this time he will help lead it. Meyer has been appointed deputy assistant attorney general in the division and will oversee three of its civil sections.
Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Thomas Barnett said Meyer will bring a "wealth of antitrust experience" with his experience in private practice. He left the department just as former President George H.W. Bush took office, serving as special assistant to Assistant Attorney General Charles Rule from 1987 to 1989.
Since then he has been at the Covington & Burling law firm, counseling corporate clients in government investigations and private antitrust litigation.
"David has been an outstanding partner, and we are very sorry to see him leave us," said Stuart Stock, chair of Covington's management committee. "But David is an exceptional antitrust lawyer, and he will make a very strong contribution to the work of the division."
Jeff Nesbit is on a similar career path: He is returning to government service from the private sector after more than a decade as a strategic communications consultant.
Nesbit has been tapped as the new legislative and public affairs director for the National Science Foundation. He will oversee the agency's communications with Congress, the public and the media as of June 12.
Nesbit used to be the communications director for former Vice President Dan Quayle and the associate commissioner for public affairs at the Food and Drug Administration for Dr. David Kessler. He is also the author of 17 novels for adults and children.
Moving Freedom To Maryland
The Progress and Freedom Foundation is freeing long-time senior fellow Randolph May. May will leave at the end of May to become president of the Free State Foundation, a free-market think tank he founded that focuses on Maryland and some national issues like communications.
PFF President Ray Gifford said May has contributed to the foundation's success over the past six years and called his work on drafting a Digital Age Communications Act remarkable. The proposal calls for a new approach to telecommunications regulation.
"Working with my colleagues on the Digital Age Communications Act and in other areas has been very rewarding. But at this time I feel the challenge of launching and running a new free-market think tank is the right path for me, and I appreciate very much the support and encouragement of my PFF colleagues," May said.
In a statement, he noted that it may not be easy to get the Democratic-leaning "blue" state to see the value of green. "Maryland is a state with much to offer, but in terms of public policy it does not always recognize how a free market can employ consumers," May said.
He has been involved in communications policy for three decades. From 1978 to 1981, May served as assistant general counsel and associate general counsel at the FCC, and he then practiced communications and administrative law. He is the recent past chair of the American Bar Association section of administrative law and regulatory practice.
Comings And Goings At Hewlett-Packard
The new U.S. federal business organization at Hewlett-Packard soon will have a new managing vice president. Tim Sheahan comes from Computer Sciences Corp., where he was the federal sector president of the enforcement, security and intelligence division.
HP's federal business organization office will be part of TSG America. HP said in a statement that the move integrates their sales and services in the federal market. The goal is to better engage with federal customers and better work with their acquisition processes.
"Under Tim's leadership, the fully integrated U.S. federal TSG Americas organization is well-poised to ramp up during the remainder of our fiscal year and throughout 2007," HP said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Tom Perkins, an HP director has abruptly resigned from the board. The resignation comes more than a year after HP's directors brought Perkins out of retirement to handle problems with uneven performance and disagreements with then-CEO Carly Fiorina.
Perkins, 73, originally joined the board in 2002 and retired in 2004. He founded the venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers before taking on HP. No reason was given for his departure, and a spokeswoman declined further comment.
Elsewhere, Joseph Grundfest has resigned from Oracle's board because of company concerns about his new job. Grundfest is a Stanford University law professor. Since March he has co-directed a corporate governance center at the university. Grundfest said in his resignation letter that he felt the concerns are "misplaced." He had served on Oracle's board since 2001.
Bonkers For Bach
Since the beginning of time, music has stirred the deepest passion in people. In the world of technology policy, those passions recently have manifested themselves in legal and lobbying slugfests over how musicians and performers should be compensated in the digital world.
But on May 15, the passion for music took a more harmonious tone among the policy community at the opulent residence of Belgian Ambassador Frans van Daele, where about 100 insiders and their friends gathered to enjoy their collective passion for the work of Johann Sebastian Bach.
The genesis of the music appreciation group started with help from Sen. John (Jay) Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat who has helped to support the performers, the Washington Bach Consort, for decades. Rockefeller also sits on the Senate Commerce Committee. "This [group] wouldn't exist without Jay Rockefeller's enthusiasm and passion," noted Justin Lilley, of the media and telecom lobbying firm The Lilley Group.
Lilley orchestrated the evening of Bach, cocktails and dinner along with Tamera Luzzatto, the chief of staff to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. Like Luzzatto, Rockefeller is a Bach fanatic and founded the consort along with the group's artistic director, Reilly Lewis.
Rockefeller was unable to attend last week because of recent back surgery. But his son, Justin, confided during a speech delivered after the concert that Bach's music often provides the senator a much-needed mental escape from the frenzy of politics.
BellSouth and Discovery Communications each contributed $25,000 for the consort's activities, while AT&T, EarthLink, General Electric, Lockheed Martin, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, News Corp. and Sony BMG contributed $10,000 each. Other telecom and media sponsors included Comcast, EMI, the Entertainment Software Association, the Recording Industry Association of America, the Walt Disney Company, Qwest Communications International, Time Warner, the Universal Music Group and Verizon Communications.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, fellow Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein and Senate Commerce Deputy Staff Director Christine Kurth were spotted at the intimate black-tie concert and dinner. The commissioners rotated sessions at dinner tables with each course of the meal.
One of the more amusing remarks of the evening came from Commissioner Adelstein. Commenting on the miniature sugar sculpture sitting atop his millefeuille croquant praline au chocolat, Adelstein asked: "What's this? It looks like a radio antenna."
Quote Of The Week
"He has 40,000 tunes on his iPod, and I hope I didn't pay for all of them,"
-- Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., speaking of his college freshman son at a Computer and Communications Industry Association luncheon. Dorgan said he staunchly supports protecting intellectual property -- even if it is costly.
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