CCST Council Member Peter Cowhey Picked as Counselor for US Trade Representative

The new administration of President Barack Obama has invited CCST Council member Peter Cowhey to serve as a member of the senior leadership team at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). Cowhey will serve as Senior Counselor to the U.S. Trade Representative on strategy and negotiations.

Peter F. Cowhey is the Qualcomm Professor of Communications and Technology Policy and Dean at the University of California, San Diego’s Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS). He is an internationally recognized expert in telecommunications and information policy and markets who also is a leader in building cooperative international arrangements for the management of security and economics issues. He has been a member of CCST since 2007.

“We are extremely pleased that the Office of the Trade Representative will be able to benefit from Peter Cowhey’s expertise,” said CCST Executive Director Susan Hackwood. “While we are sorry that the appointment will necessitate Dean Cowhey’s absence from the Council for the next year, we are immensely proud of the appointment and look forward to his return.”

Cowhey is the latest of several prominent Californians to join the Obama administration in various capacities, including Leon Panetta as Director of the CIA, Congresswoman Hilda Solis as Secretary of the Department of Labor, and Lawrence Berkeley Director Steven Chu, a Nobel Laureate and CCST Fellow, as Secretary of Energy.

Cowhey has a distinguished history as an advisor in the areas of international trade, telecommunications and information technology. He has served as an advisor to major companies in the telecommunications and IT industries as well as leading international institutions. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the International Advisory Board of the Grameen Foundation USA. He has also served as chairman of the board of Digital Partners, a global non-profit organization.

The 12-month appointment runs through February 2010. Cowhey will defer the third year of his first term as CCST Council member until his appointment at USTR concludes.