U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Announces Appointees to Inaugural Digital Economy Board of Advisors

U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker announced today the appointment of 17 distinguished leaders with a wide range of expertise on digital policy and economic issues to serve on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Digital Economy Board of Advisors, which will provide recommendations on ways to advance economic growth and opportunity in the digital age.

Last November, Secretary Pritzker committed to creating a Board of Advisors as a mechanism for ensuring private sector input and support for the Department’s new Digital Economy Agenda, which is focused on promoting innovation, a free and open Internet, trust online, and Internet access for all Americans. Zoë Baird, CEO and President of the Markle Foundation, and Mitchell Baker, Executive Chairwoman of Mozilla, will serve as co-chairs of the new digital economy board. The appointees, who will serve two-year terms, were chosen from a large pool of highly-qualified applicants from industry, civil society and academia to provide expertise from a variety of viewpoints.

“I am thrilled that such a knowledgeable and diverse group of thought leaders has volunteered to serve on our new Digital Economy Board of Advisors,” Secretary Pritzker said. “As we develop an agenda to help the digital economy grow and thrive, it is critical that we engage with those on the front lines of the digital revolution.”

The other appointees to the board are:

•          Karen Bartleson, President-elect of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
•          Greg Becker, President and CEO of Silicon Valley Bank and SVB Financial Group
•          James Cicconi, Senior Executive Vice President of External and Legislative Affairs at AT&T
•          David L. Cohen, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer of Comcast Corporation
•          Austan Goolsbee, Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business 
•          Mindy Grossman, CEO and Director of HSN, Inc.
•          Oisin Hanrahan, Co-Founder and CEO of Handy
•          Sonia Katyal, Chancellor’s Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law
•          James Manyika, Director of the McKinsey Global Institute
•          William Ruh, CEO of GE Digital and Chief Digital Officer for GE
•          Brad Smith, President and Chief Legal Officer at Microsoft Corporation
•          Corey Thomas, President and CEO of Rapid7
•          Marta Tellado, President and CEO of Consumer Reports
•          Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube
•          John Zimmer, Co-founder and President of Lyft

“This team of exceptional leaders will provide the Department with invaluable advice as we work to realize the full potential of the digital economy to advance economic growth and opportunity,” said Lawrence E. Strickling, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and Administrator of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

The board will provide recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce through NTIA, which is responsible for advising the President on telecommunications and information policy issues. Alan Davidson, the Commerce Department’s Director of the Digital Economy who helped develop the board, will engage with the board on its agenda and work with the Secretary and NTIA to implement the board’s recommendations.