FACTBOX: Obama to fill FCC, new chief tech officer jobs
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The following are potential nominees to head the U.S. Federal Communications Commission under an Obama Administration, according to industry lobbyists and sources.
Two Democrats who formerly headed the FCC, William Kennard and Reed Hundt, have been advising Obama on telecommunications issues but neither has been mentioned as a potential pick to return to the chairmanship.
In addition to the top FCC job, Obama promised to create a new job of "chief technology officer" or tech czar for the federal government to ensure all federal agencies have up-to-date technology and cybersecurity.
Following are names that have emerged as possible contenders for the FCC chairmanship:
* Julius Genachowski is a classmate of Obama's from Harvard Law School and has been advising Obama on telecom policy. He served as chief counsel for former FCC Chairman Hundt and held various positions at IAC/InterActiveCorp.
* Blair Levin was a chief of staff to Hundt during the 1990s. He is now a managing director covering telecommunications for investment bank Stifel Nicolaus and holds a degree from Yale Law School.
* Karen Kornbluth has been an Obama policy adviser and worked at the FCC in the 1990s, including as deputy chief of the media bureau. She was chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin during the Clinton years.
* Current Democratic Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein has been an FCC Commissioner since 2002. He worked 15 years on Capitol Hill, including seven years as a senior aide to then-Sen. Tom Daschle, a Democrat who is close to Obama.
* Current Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps has been on the Commission since 2001. He came to Washington in 1970, first working for Sen. Fritz Hollings of South Carolina. From 1998 to 2001 he was assistant secretary of Commerce for Trade Development at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
As the two Democrats now on the commission, Adelstein and Copps often dissented against agency rulings such as FCC approval of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc's $3.3 billion purchase of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings.
(Reporting by Kim Dixon; Editing by Gary Hill)
