After weeks of speculation, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal both quote unnamed source(s) that claim Obama technology advisor Julius Genachowski will head the Federal Communications Commission.
Genachowski, a former Harvard Law School classmate of the president-elect, previously worked at the FCC during the Clinton administration as former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt's lead lawyer. A big fundraiser and advisor for Obama's presidential campaign, Genachowski's name was also bandied about for the yet-to-be-defined CTO role - sources say he took a pass because the Chairman's role is more clearly defined and is able to influence policy.
The reports put to rest speculation around other candidates, such as tech-wonk favorite Blair Levin, but they do not shed light upon talk suggesting current FCC Commissioner Michael Copps would serve as an interim chairman until Genachowski could be approved by the Senate.
Reports in December suggested Genachowski was the favored pick, but little more was heard until Monday. A source Fierce spoke to at CES suggested delays in naming a FCC chairman were linked to the abrupt resignation of Governor Bill Richardson as Obama's nominee for Secretary of Commerce.
Prior to hooking up with the Obama campaign, Genachowski co-founded LaunchBox Digital, a Washington DC-based venture firm, and worked at IAC/InterActive Corp in various executive positions for eight years.
For more:
- WSJ online and Washington Post reports of Monday.
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