To Avoid Appearance of Conflict, FirstNet Director Leaves Company Board Days After Being Added, NTIA Says
NTIA said FirstNet Vice Chairman Jeff Johnson resigned from Sonim Technologies, a maker of rugged mobile phones and other "mission-critical smart phone based solutions" that last week named him to the board. "While he consulted with ethics officials before joining…
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the board of Sonim, and received guidance on the proper recusals, Mr. Johnson determined that FirstNet’s mission would best be served by his resignation in order to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest," NTIA said through a spokeswoman Tuesday. A former fire chief, Johnson joined the Western Fire Chiefs Association in 2010 as CEO. Before he joined the board, Sonim and Johnson "extensively checked with the Department of Commerce legal staff to ensure both parties were clear of any conflicts of interest," and Commerce said it was OK, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday evening. "Last week, after we issued our press release, we were notified that the situation had changed since we talked to the Department of Commerce. It was clear to them that Sonim was the leader in the FirstNet handset space and as such given our trajectory, Jeff would need to resign from our board." Johnson didn't comment Tuesday.