Obama Brings on Reed Hundt, Tom Wheeler

By Ira Teinowitz

President-elect Barack Obama is tapping former Federal Communications Commission chairman Reed Hundt to its transition team in a role not directly related to media. Former National Cable Telecommunications Association president Tom Wheeler will join the transition team as a member of its agency review working group.

In a news release today, the team said Mr. Hundt would be working on transition at international trade and economics agencies, but not apparently the FCC. Mr. Hundt was FCC chairman from 1993 to 1997 and served as an advisor to the Obama campaign.

Mr. Wheeler, who also headed the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, was named a member of the agency review working group. Mr. Wheeler is currently managing director of Core Capital Partners, a venture capital firm. He is taking a leave of absence.

The President-elect's office said the transition team will complete a thorough review of key departments, agencies and commissions and the White House, to provide the administration with information needed to make strategic policy, budgetary, and personnel decisions prior to the inauguration.

The teams will begin their efforts by the end of the week, and will ensure that senior appointees have the information necessary to complete the confirmation process, lead their departments, and begin implementing policy initiatives immediately after they are sworn in.

The announcement comes as teams from the incoming Obama administration ready to start interacting with their Bush administration counterparts. While appointment to the team is not always indicative of a future posting, current FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was a member of the Bush administration transition team before becoming an FCC commissioner.

The Obama transition team also gained Jon Wilkins, who worked at the FCC from 1998-1999, but has more recently been with McKinsey & Co.

The transition team already included Don Gips, a former chief of the FCC’s international bureau. Today’s announcement said that Mr. Gips will co-chair of the agency review working group of which Mr. Wheeler is a member. The campaign did not immediately return a request for comment on whether Mr. Gips would oversee the transition at the FCC.

Mr. Gips is on leave from his role as group VP-global corporate development at Level 3 Communications, where he leads merger and acquisition efforts and is the chief strategy officer. Prior to joining Level 3, Mr. Gips served in the White House as Chief Domestic Policy Advisor to Vice President Al Gore.

The president-elect’s office announced earlier that besides Mr. Gips, Julius Genachowski and former Federal Trade Commission member Christine Varney would serve as top officials.

Mr. Genachowski was a chief counselor for former FCC chairman Reed Hundt and subsequently an executive for Barry Diller’s IAC/Interactive. He is now an investor and technology strategist. Mr. Genachowski was a Harvard classmate with Mr. Obama and played a major role in the writing of the Obama campaign’s media issues platform. Mr. Genachowski has been mentioned as among the possibilities to head the Federal Communications Commission.

Ms. Varney as an FTC commissioner was concerned about children’s issues and privacy, including some related to TV.

Today’s announcement also said that Sally Katzen, a former Clinton administration Office of Management and Budget official is joining the team, though she will be responsible of the transition at the executive office of the President. During the Clinton administration, Ms. Katzen had been involved in the government’s review of privacy issues. She now is a lecturer at Michigan Law School.