President Obama has nominated Tom Wheeler, a venture capitalist and former cable and wireless lobbyist, to head the Federal Communications Commission.
If confirmed by the Senate, Wheeler would succeed Julius Genachowski, who is exiting his post to join the Aspen Institute. Obama formally nominated Wheeler Tuesday afternoon, noting the FCC “sits at the center of a communications universe that is growing and changing faster than you can tweet.”
“Tom is the only member of both the cable television and the wireless industry hall of fame,” Obama said. “For more than 30 years, Tom’s been at the forefront of some of the very dramatic changes that we’ve seen in the way we communicate and how we live our lives.”
Wheeler has served as president of of the National Cable Television Association and the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.