As the Federal Communications Commission has emerged from obscurity over the past few decades, the position of the agency's chairman has become more and more coveted. Today, the FCC is building the infrastructure of the 21st century, a far cry from the pure-play broadcast licenser it was a few decades ago. Not to mention the fact that a chairman today has a greater chance of transforming his position into a lucrative job at a private equity firm, as former Chairmen William Kennard, now a partner at Carlyle Group, and Michael Powell, now a partner at Providence Capital, have done.
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With great interest in the agency, there are a number of names being thrown around as potential successors to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, who is holding a meeting Tuesday to push through what is likely to be the last megamerger of the Bush administration: Verizon Wireless' $28.1 billion purchase of rival Alltel Corp.
Some names being bandied about as Barack Obama's picks include the presidential candidate's Harvard Law School classmate, Julius Genachowski, a managing director of venture capital firm Rock Creek Ventures and a special adviser to buyout firm General Atlantic Partners.
Other candidates include Lawrence Strickling, former chief of the FCC's common carrier bureau (now Wireline Bureau), and Don Gips, an executive vice president at Level 3 and former chief of the FCC's International Bureau. Current FCC Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps could also be candidates. Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who is also under consideration for other Obama administration posts, also may be considered. Stifel Nicolaus & Co. regulatory analyst and Clinton administration FCC Chief of Staff Blair Levin is also a possible nominee.
A McCain administration might tap Pablo Chavez, a top Google Inc. lobbyist; Bill Baily, a former McCain staffer and Disney lobbyist; or Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager who has represented Verizon and SBC Communications. Charles Black, a political adviser to McCain's campaign, is another possible McCain chairman, as is FCC commissioner Robert McDowell, a GOP nominee.
But Andrew Lipman, partner at Bingham McCutchen LLP in Washington, says he thinks there is a very good chance all the names being considered will be wrong and a dark horse will win out. "It's not often that someone in the president's inner circle becomes the FCC chairman," Lipman said. - Ron Orol
Ron Orol is a Washington-based reporter for The Deal and author of Extreme Value Hedging: How Activist Hedge Fund Managers Are Taking on the World.
