Julius Genachowski

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Julius Genachowski
Chairperson of the Federal Communications Commission
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 29, 2009
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Michael Copps (Acting)
Personal details
Born August 19, 1962 (1962-08-19) (age 49)
Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party Democratic Party
Spouse(s) Martha Raddatz (Divorced)
Rachel Goslins (2001–present)
Children Jake
Lilah
Aaron
Alma mater Columbia University
Harvard University
Religion Judaism
Website Official website

Julius Genachowski (born August 19, 1962) is an American lawyer and businessman. He became Federal Communications Commission Chairman on June 29, 2009.[1][2]

Contents

[edit] Education

Genachowski grew up in Great Neck, New York. He attended yeshiva and studied in Israel.[3] He entered Columbia College of Columbia University as a pre-med student, but earned a Bachelor of Arts in History (1985) magna cum laude. He was an Editor of the Columbia Daily Spectator. After working in Washington, D.C. for then New York Congressman Chuck Schumer, he entered Harvard Law School and earned a Juris Doctor (1991), also magna cum laude. He was a Notes Editor at the Harvard Law Review when his classmate Barack Obama was its president. Genachowski clerked for The Honorable Abner J. Mikva on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and then for Justices William J. Brennan and David Souter at the U.S. Supreme Court.[4][5][6][7]

[edit] Government and business experience

Genachowski was on the staffs of the Select Committee investigating the Iran-Contra Affair and then U.S. Representative Chuck Schumer.[8] In 1994 FCC Chairman Reed Hundt hired him as a senior legal advisor; he was chief counsel 1996-1997.[9]

He was Chief of Business Operations and a member of Barry Diller's Office of the Chairperson at IAC/InterActiveCorp and executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. He earned at least $USD2.5 million when Vivendi acquired Universal assets in 2003.[10] He had previously served on the Boards of Directors of Expedia, Hotels.com, and Ticketmaster.[5]

Genachowski is a co-founder of LaunchBox Digital and Rock Creek Ventures;[6] a Special Advisor at General Atlantic; and a member of the Boards of Directors at The Motley Fool, Web.com, Mark Ecko Enterprises, and Beliefnet.[6] In April 2006, he was appointed to the Board of JackBe.[11]

He serves on the Board of Common Sense Media, a leading organization seeking to improve the media lives of children and families and the Advisory Board of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). He also recently helped found the New Resource Bank, the country’s first commercial green bank.[5]

[edit] Obama campaign and transition

For Senator Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential Campaign, Genachowski was Chairperson of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Policy Working Group, which created the Obama Technology and Innovation Plan.[12] He also advised and guided the Campaign’s innovative use of technology and the Internet for grassroots engagement and participation.

After the November election, he co-led the Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform Group for President-Elect Obama's Transition Team.[13] On January 12, 2009, several news outlets reported that Genachowski would be President-Elect Obama's choice to head the FCC. This was confirmed by a press release on March 3, 2009.[14]

[edit] Accomplishments as FCC Chairman

Initially, Chairman Genachowski promised to rein in companies restricting what people can do on their Internet lines, setting a new tone for the agency.[15] However criticisms have become numerous and increasingly vocal among consumer groups and legislative supporters about his lack of substantive accomplishments to date. In particular, his lack of clear commitment to regulating carriers under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act, as he had proposed, has engendered a great deal of controversy and concern among supporters of Net Neutrality. Correspondingly, those carriers opposed to increased regulation have attempted to suggest regulatory solutions, a process he has been criticized for encouraging.[15]

Genachowski's departure from the FCC seemed a possibility in early 2011, possibly to some other federal post.[16]

[edit] Personal

His parents are Eastern European Jews who survived the Holocaust.[17] His cousin, Menachem Genack, is an Orthodox rabbi and the CEO of the Orthodox Union Kosher Division.[18] He is married to Rachel Goslins.[19][20]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski". Federal Communications Commission. http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/genachowski/. Retrieved July 7, 2009. 
  2. ^ "Rachel Goslins". Washington Jewish Week - Online Edition (Rockville, Maryland). 24 December 2008. http://washingtonjewishweek.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=51&ArticleID=9869&TM=73616.05. Retrieved 2011-06-10. 
  3. ^ "Julius Genachowski" (Fee, via Fairfax County Public Library). The Complete Marquis Who's Who. Gale Biography In Context. 2010. Gale Document Number: GALE|K2016545010. http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=BIC2&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CK2016545010&mode=view&userGroupName=fairfax_main&jsid=aec21101e0d9db1ded2cc8e41f5051c9. Retrieved 2011-06-10. 
  4. ^ "AllGov - Officials - Genachowski, Julius". AllGov.com. David Wallechinsky. 2009. http://www.allgov.com/Official/Genachowski_Julius. Retrieved 2011-06-11. "He attended yeshiva (Jewish religious school) through high school and studied in Israel before enrolling in Columbia College, Columbia University as a pre-med major, but later switched to history, with an eye on law school following graduation. While at Columbia, Genachowski served as an editor at Spectator magazine, and led the charge to bring back Acta Columbiana, a campus paper that had not been published in a hundred years.
    After receiving his BA in history, magna cum laude, in 1985, Genachowski decided to postpone law school and go to work for then-Congressman Charles Schumer (D-NY). His time on Capitol Hill also included work on the staff of the special Congressional committee investigating the Iran-Contra Affair. He then enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he served as notes editor at the Harvard Law Review, along with fellow student Barack Obama. “We were two guys with funny names,” recalled Genachowski. He received his JD in 1991, magna cum laude. That same year, he married Boston journalist Martha Raddatz (who was previously married to Ben Bradlee III, son of the longtime Washington Post editor, Ben Bradlee). They later divorced."     
  5. ^ a b c "Julius Genachowski - Biography". http://www.netcaucus.org/biography/julius-genachowski.shtml. Retrieved 2008-11-06. 
  6. ^ a b c "LaunchBOX Digital Founders & Advisors". http://www.launchboxdigital.com/founders-advisors.html. Retrieved 2008-11-06. 
  7. ^ "Chairman of the FCC: Who is Julius Genachowski?". allgov.com. David Wallechinsky. January 21, 2009. http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/Chairman__of__the__Federal__Communications__Commission__FCC__Who__is__Julius__Genachowski__90121. Retrieved 2011-06-10. 
  8. ^ Rock Creek Ventures - Julius Genachowski
  9. ^ Lasar, Matthew. "In search of Julius Genachowski". Ars Technica. Condé Nast Digital. http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2008/12/in-search-of-julius-genachowski.ars. Retrieved 2011-06-10. 
  10. ^ Morgenson, Gretchen (August 10, 2003). "How Diller Hit Paydirt From the Vivendi Deal". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/10/business/how-diller-hit-paydirt-from-the-vivendi-deal.html?ref=juliusgenachowski. Retrieved 2011-06-10. "...Mr. Diller transferred some of his 1.5 percent VUE stake to three executive officers of InterActive... Julius Genachowski, the company's general counsel...each received stakes worth a minimum of $2.5 million." 
  11. ^ "JackBe Appoints Julius Genachowski to Board of Directors". http://www.jackbe.com/news_events/jb_press_release_041106.php. 
  12. ^ "Barack Obama and Joe Biden - The Change we Need - Julius Genachowski's Blog". http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/juliusgenachowski. Retrieved 2009-01-05. 
  13. ^ "Policy Working Groups". http://change.gov/learn/policy_working_groups. Retrieved 2009-01-05. 
  14. ^ "President Obama Announces More Key Appointments". http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-More-Key-Appointments-March-3-2009. Retrieved 2009-12-06. 
  15. ^ a b Manjoo, Farhad (2009-10-09). "I Heart the New FCC Chairman: Thank Julius Genachowski for giving us a better mobile Internet". Slate. http://www.slate.com/id/2231917/. 
  16. ^ Jerome, Sara (9 March 2011). "End of the Julius Genachowski era may come soon at the FCC". The Hill. http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/148271-julius-genachowskis-era-may-end-soon-at-the-fcc. Retrieved 2011-06-11. "FCC Chairman Genachowski is under consideration to replace Gary Locke as secretary of Commerce ... Genachowski is among a list of names the White House has floated internally for the Commerce job, along with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, other government officials and top business executives ... Even if Genachowski doesn’t take the Commerce job, both he and the White House have reasons for his leaving his FCC post in the near future." 
  17. ^ "Julius Genachowski to Be Nominee for F.C.C. Chairperson". The New York Times. 2009-01-13. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/us/politics/14fcc.html. Retrieved 2009-01-14. 
  18. ^ Genack, Menachem (2006-11-14). "The American Journey continues:Reflections on Obama". The Jewish Standard. http://www.jstandard.com/index.php/content/item/the_american_journey_continues_reflections_on_obama. Retrieved 2009-01-18. 
  19. ^ Kantor, Jodi (2008-11-15). "JULIUS GENACHOWSKI; Candidates for Obama's Inner Circle". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DE2D71E3DF936A25752C1A96E9C8B63&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  20. ^ "Statement of Julius Genachowski, Nominee to Serve as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission..." (PDF). U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. June 16, 2009. http://www.clarendon.tv/fcc/genachowskiopeningstatement.pdf. Retrieved 2011-06-11. "wonderful wife Rachel Goslins, and my incredible children—Jake, Lilah, and Aaron. I’m so pleased that my parents are here, Adele and Azriel Genachowski, and my two brothers, Joey and Alan Genachowski." 
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Political offices
Preceded by
Michael Copps
Acting		 Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
2009–present		 Incumbent
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