Publication Type: Media Release
Date: 8/27/2009CONTACT: Rob Stoddard/Brian Dietz, 202-222-2350
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rick Chessen, a veteran senior attorney and manager at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and longtime telecommunications attorney and litigator, has been named Senior Vice President, Law & Regulatory Policy, for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA).
Chessen will join NCTA September 8. He reports to NCTA President & CEO Kyle McSlarrow and succeeds Dan Brenner, who recently joined the law firm of Hogan & Hartson as Partner.
Chessen first joined the FCC in 1994 as a senior attorney in the Cable Services Bureau. He rose to become Acting Chief of Staff of the Commission earlier this year during the acting chairmanship of Commissioner Michael Copps. Following the confirmation of Julius Genachowski as FCC Chairman, Chessen remained on the staff of Commissioner Copps as Senior Legal Advisor.
“We’re really fortunate that Rick has chosen to come to work for NCTA,” said McSlarrow. “Rick’s collegial working style, and his recognized expertise in federal regulation and telecommunications law, will greatly benefit our efforts to maintain a positive and constructive regulatory environment for our industry.”
During his time at the Commission, Chessen also served as Senior Legal Advisor to former Commissioner Gloria Tristani; Associate Bureau Chief for the Mass Media Bureau; Chair of the Digital Television Task Force; and Associate Bureau Chief for the Media Bureau.
Chessen also has worked in private enterprise and practiced law at several law firms. He served as Vice President – Policy at RespondTV; Partner in Sheppard Mullin Hampton & Richter, LLP; Associate at Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal; and Associate at Isham, Lincoln & Beale.
Chessen holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.
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NCTA is the principal trade association for the U.S. cable industry, representing cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation's cable television households and more than 200 cable program networks. The cable industry is the nation’s largest broadband provider of high-speed Internet access, serving more than 40 million customers, after investing more than $145 billion to build two-way digital networks with fiber optic technology. Cable companies also provide state-of-the-art digital telephone service to more than 20 million American consumers.