Personnel Notes

Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps officially announced his resignation from the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, confirming his plans to depart at the end of the year.

“Yesterday, I submitted to the President notice of my intention to resign my post as Commissioner effective January 1, 2012. Should the Senate confirm my successor prior to that date, or should the Senate adjourn sine die before January 1st, I would of course be leaving sooner," Copps said in a statement.

An outspoken advocate for net neutrality, Copps has also taken the commission to task for not doing enough to promote diversity in the media and telecom industry during his decade-long tenure.

He has consistently opposed consolidation in media industry since joining the FCC in 2001 and was the only vote against approving the NBC Universal-Comcast deal.

"It has been a privilege and honor to serve for more than ten years as a Commissioner. The FCC is an agency of true excellence and its decisions are integral to our country’s future," Copps said.

Former Morgan Stanley managing director John Carlson has joined BITS, the technology policy division of the Financial Services Roundtable to lead cybersecurity initiatives for the financial industry.

Carlson re-joined the lobbying group on Thursday after working at BITS from 2002 until he left for Morgan Stanley in 2010. Prior to 2002 he served in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as director of bank technology. He has also worked for the Office of Management and Budget and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

“John’s leadership within the industry, at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and at the helm of public-private collaborations is broad, deep and well-respected,” said BITS president Paul Smocer. “John has been foundational to BITS’ success in the past and we are privileged to have him rejoin our staff.”

The financial industry is a leading candidate for regulation if Congress succeeds in passing comprehensive cybersecurity legislation. The Senate proposal would task the Department of Homeland Security with ensuring firms implement adequate safeguards, while the House GOP favors incentives for information sharing but no mandate.

Federal Communications Commission spokesman David Fiske will retire from the agency this December after spending 16 and a half years in the Office of Media Relations.

Fiske joined the FCC after a short stint covering the broadcast beat for the trade publication Communications Daily. He previously worked as a lobbyist, in public relations and spent several years in the corporate office of CBS.

Fiske will take on some freelance writing and editing projects in addition to spending more time on the beach. He graduated from Wesleyan University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Broadcasting & Cable first reported his retirement.

Google confirmed Monday that their director of public policy will leave the search giant after six and a half years.

President Obama nominated former Federal Communications Commission deputy general counsel Ajit Pai and Senate Commerce Committee senior communications counsel Jessica Rosenworcel on Monday to fill the two vacancies on the Commission left by Republican Meredith Attwell Baker's departure to join Comcast earlier this year and Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps' eventual retirement.

Pai is currently a partner at Jenner & Block and was mentioned as a candidate in 2009 when Baker was appointed. He previously served as chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Civil Rights and as senior counsel at the Office of Legal Policy at the Justice Department

Pai began his career as a law clerk to Judge Martin Feldman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and then joined the Justice Department as an Honors Program trial attorney in the Telecommunications Task Force of the Antitrust Division.

He has also served as associate General Counsel at Verizon. Pai holds a B.A. from Harvard University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago.

Rosenworcel has worked for Senate Commerce chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) since 2009 and previously worked for Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Ha.) from 2007 to 2008. She served at the FCC as senior legal advisor to Copps from 2003-2007 and as legal counsel to the Wireline Bureau chief from 2002 to 2003.

From 1997 to 1999 Rosenworcel was a communications associate at Drinker Biddle and Reath. She received a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Former Yahoo chief trust officer Anne Toth will join Google on Monday as head of privacy for the new Google+ social network, the firm confirmed on Friday.

Toth spent 13 years at Yahoo, which has reportedly put itself up for sale after CEO Carol Bartz was fired last month. She announced the move in a Google+ post on Friday. Toth attended Wellesley College and the University of California, Berkeley.

"Excited to be joining Google and the Google+ team next week," Toth said. "Today I'm enjoying my one, solitary day of unemployment. I love everyone who told me to take time off between jobs but I'm too Type A for my own good."

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced Thursday that Mark Weatherford has been named deputy under secretary for cybersecurity for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD).

Weatherford is the first to serve in the new role, created last month as a recognition of the growing importance of cybersecurity. He will be in charge of the department's cybersecurity operations including managing partnerships with the private sector.

The announcement is part of a series of of personnel moves for DHS's cybersecurity team. Suzanne Spaulding recently join the department as deputy under secretary for the NPPD, where she will focus on securing critical infrastructure, federal facilities and advanced identity management.

Spaulding and Weatherford together will replace Phillip Reitinger, who resigned in June to spend more time with his family. He was named chief information security officer at Sony last month. His duties have been divided between two positions as cybersecurity gains prominence.

The Motion Picture Association of America announced Wednesday that veteran entertainment industry lawyer Henry Hoberman will take over as the organization's new senior executive vice president and global general counsel.

Upon assuming his new position in November, Hoberman will oversee all of the MPAA's legal, content enforcement and rights management programs, both domestically and abroad. He comes to the MPAA after 25 years in the entertainment industry, including leadership positions at Disney and ABC.

“Henry’s experience within the film and television industry and his breadth of knowledge of the many serious challenges facing the entertainment community will be a tremendous resource to the MPAA," said MPAA Chairman and CEO Chris Dodd, a former U.S. senator.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the appointment of a new top cyber official at the Pentagon on Tuesday.

Eric Rosenbach will serve as deputy assistant secretary of Defense for cyber policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs. Rosenbach previously worked as the cybersecurity lead at Good Harbor Consulting. He replaces Robert Butler, who left DOD earlier this year.

Rosenbach also worked as a staffer for the Senate Intelligence Committee and as national security adviser for former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.). He served as an active duty military intelligence officer and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

Rosenbach earned a J.D. from Georgetown University, a master's in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and bachelor of arts from Davidson College.

Facebook confirmed Monday that director of global public policy Tim Sparapani left the firm on Friday.

Sparapani became Facebook's second Washington employee in 2009 after the former ACLU privacy hawk was tapped to lead the social networking giant's lobbying efforts. Until recently he managed the firm's outreach to Congress and state attorney generals on policy issues.

"Tim Sparapani decided to transition out of the company last month. He has made a lasting impact by helping build our DC team and policy portfolio," said Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes. "We are sad to see him go, but we appreciate Tim's desire to pursue new opportunities and we wish him well."

Facebook recently added former Obama White House aide Louisa Terrell as director of public policy. Facebook vice president for U.S. public policy Joel Kaplan and public policy manager Myriah Jordan, both from the George W. Bush White House, will help manage Facebook's Congressional relations going forward.