Ex-FCC Chmn. Michael Powell joined Providence Equity Partners as ...
Ex-FCC Chmn. Michael Powell joined Providence Equity Partners as a senior advisor, the private equity firm said Thurs. Powell will advise Providence on technology and regulatory issues in the media, communications and information industries in which Providence specializes. Since…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
its start in 1990, Providence, which has more than $9 billion in equity commitments, has invested in VoiceStream Wireless, PanAmSat, AT&T Canada, Western Wireless, Nextel and other major firms. Powell said in a news release the job offers “a unique opportunity for me to apply my experience.” He told the N.Y. Times in an article Thurs. he is particularly pleased with the job because he didn’t want to be a lobbyist: “I didn’t want to be a classic former government official that does nothing but sell access back to the corridors of D.C.” The announcement drew fire from Jeff Chester, exec. dir. of the Center for Digital Democracy, as an example of the need to shut the “revolving door” between the FCC and industries it oversees. He said Powell is joining other Richard Wiley, Mark Fowler, Dennis Patrick, Reed Hundt, William Kennard and other former chairmen who left the FCC to work in the media and telecom industries. “With lucrative industry employment ahead of them, FCC chairs and most commissioners have a built-in conflict of interest,” Chester said. Asked for a response, Powell said he didn’t want to comment further on his new job.