The CTC is proud to bring together a panel of tech policy gurus to look at the issues and challenges for the year ahead. From Sacramento to Washington, DC, the policy intrigue in 2015 promises to keep industry advocates very busy. Ranging from the device tax to another shot at intellectual property, and from data security to net neutrality and immigration, the tech perspective will rise to the top of the page with great frequency this year.
Join us on Friday, January 9th in Silicon Valley for this insider’s look at the technology policy agenda for 2015. Featuring special appearances with predictions from policymakers including Representatives Jackie Speier and Mike Honda on the issues they believe will define technology policy this year. Our panelists include:
Moderator: Matt Gardner, Founder and CEO, California Technology Council
Phil Bond, Founder and CEO of Bond and Associates, and former Undersecretary for Technology of U.S. Department of Commerce
Mike Lempres, Atherton City Council Member and former Assistant General Counsel, Silicon Valley Bank, former Presidential appointee to roles at OPIC and U.S. Department of Justice
Kara Bush, Director of Government Affairs, Western Region, TechAmerica
Chris Finan, Founder and CEO, Manifold Security, and former Director, Cybersecurity Legislation and Policy for the White House.
For more information and to register, click here.
Visit our discussion forum here.
Speaker biographies:
Phillip J. Bond
Phil Bond is one of America’s most honored technology policy experts and leader of the firm that bears his name.
A former US Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology, his 25-plus year career in Washington has included numerous citations for his leadership roles in the Executive branch, on Capitol Hill, at major high technology companies, and most recently as the CEO of TechAmerica, the largest technology advocacy association in the US.
Earlier in his career, Bond served as Senior Vice President of Government Relations for Monster Worldwide, the world’s largest online career site, and General Manager of Monster Government Solutions.
From 2001 to 2005, Bond was Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce for Technology and, from 2002-2003, served concurrently as Chief of Staff to Commerce Secretary Donald Evans. In his dual role, Bond worked closely with Secretary Evans to increase market access for U.S. goods and services and further advance America’s technological leadership at home and around the world. He oversaw the operations of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Office of Technology Policy, and the National Technical Information Service. During his tenure, the Technology Administration was the pre-eminent portal between the federal government and the U.S. technology industry.
Bond joined the Administration from the private sector, where he served as Director of Federal Public Policy for the Hewlett-Packard Company, and previously as Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and Treasurer of the Information Technology Industry Council.
From 1993 to 1998, Bond served as Chief of Staff to the late Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn (R-WA). He was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs from 1992 to 1993. Earlier, Bond was Chief of Staff and Rules Committee Associate for Congressman Bob McEwen (R-OH) from 1990 to 1992. From 1987 to 1990, he served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs.
He is a graduate of Linfield College in Oregon. Bond and his wife, Diane, have two daughters and reside in Fairfax Station, Virginia.
Mike Lempres
Michael Lempres was, until recently, Assistant General Counsel & Practice Head at SVB Financial Group, where he led the government affairs program and chaired the PAC of the bank. He has spent his career working at the intersection of government and business in both his native California and in Washington, DC. Since being selected as White House Fellow in the Reagan Administration, he has been appointed to executive positions by three US Presidents. He served in several senior positions within the US Department of Justice, where he received the Edmund J. Randolph Award for Outstanding Service, the highest award the Department bestows.
Mike also was appointed to serve as a Vice President of the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation, working to facilitate US private sector investment in countries with emerging economies. Mike also served as Counsel to the Immigration Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee.
In the private sector, Mike worked as the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Pacific Exchange, and as a lawyer with private law firms. In his current position, Mike reports to the General Counsel of SVB Financial Group, a financial holding company that holds Silicon Valley Bank among other entities. In his portfolio, Mike handles legal, regulatory and government affairs issues.
Mike is enrolled as a Solicitor in England and Wales as well as a member of the bar in California and Washington, DC. Among his community activities, Mike serves on the Board of Directors of the Lupus Foundation of Northern California.
Chris Finan
Chris Finan is CEO and Co-Founder of Manifold Security. Chris previously led business development for Impermium, a startup specializing in spam prevention and account protection that was acquired by Google. Prior to that, Chris was the product director for a Department of Defense cyberwarfare research and development program at DARPA.
Chris formerly served in the Obama Administration as the Director for Cybersecurity Legislation and Policy on the National Security Council staff in the White House. While serving in the Obama Administration, he was responsible for assisting in the development of the Administration's cybersecurity legislative proposal, and serving as the lead Executive branch negotiator to Congress for comprehensive cybersecurity legislation. Mr. Finan also spearheaded initial development of the Cybersecurity Executive Order.
Chris served seven years in the U.S. Air Force as a pilot and intelligence officer, including a tour in Iraq where he worked as an intelligence officer and counterterrorism liaison to the Iraqi government. After attending public schools in northeastern Pennsylvania, Mr. Finan studied Political Science and Arabic at the United States Air Force Academy. Mr. Finan is a Truman National Security Project Fellow and has written on Internet freedom, surveillance reform, privacy and cybersecurity issues. He has contributed to WIRED, Politico and The Hill. His proposal for a military cyber-assistance campaign to provide the moderate Syrian opposition with a digital safe haven was featured in the New York Times.
Kara Bush
Kara Bush is TechAmerica’s director of government affairs for the Western region and serves as the lead lobbyist on policy issues before state legislatures and government agencies in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Policy areas in the West include privacy, e-commerce, education and workforce development, energy and environment, tax, procurement and emerging technologies.
Bush has worked in the public policy arena for more than a decade. She has a deep knowledge of the policy process and works to achieve outcomes that benefit the businesses she represents given the political realities of the state’s legislative affairs and local governments.
Prior to joining TechAmerica, Bush served as senior legislative director of government affairs and public policy for the California Restaurant Association where she oversaw all state and regulatory affairs. As the lead lobbyist, Bush managed the state and local contract lobbying firms and was responsible for testifying before the legislature and regulatory agencies.
Bush also served as a lobbyist for the California Grocers Association, a policy consultant for California State Assembly Member Martin Garrick and a legislative assistant for the California Department of Insurance and the Franchise Tax Board.
Bush holds a degree in criminal justice from California State University, Sacramento, and a Masters in criminal justice from Boston University.