Tom Wheeler (Fisher College of Business, 1968), newly appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will be giving his first major policy address at The Ohio State University, on Monday, December 2.
Wheeler became the 31st chairman of the FCC on November 4, 2013. He was appointed by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate.
For over three decades, Chairman Wheeler has been involved with new telecommunications networks and services, experiencing the revolution in telecommunications as a policy expert, an advocate, and a businessman. As an entrepreneur, he started or helped start multiple companies offering innovative cable, wireless, and video communications services. He is the only person to be selected to both the Cable Television Hall of Fame and The Wireless Hall of Fame.
Prior to joining the FCC, Chairman Wheeler was managing director at Core Capital Partners, a venture capital firm investing in early stage Internet Protocol (IP)-based companies. He served as president and CEO of Shiloh Group, LLC, a strategy development and private investment company specializing in telecommunications services and co-founded SmartBrief, the internet’s largest electronic information service for vertical markets.
From 1976 to 1984, Chairman Wheeler was associated with the National Cable Television Association (NCTA), where he was president and CEO from 1979 to 1984. Following NCTA, Chairman Wheeler was CEO of several high tech companies, including the first company to offer high speed delivery of data to home computers and the first digital video satellite service. From 1992 to 2004, Chairman Wheeler served as president and CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA).
Chairman Wheeler wrote Take Command: Leadership Lessons of the Civil War (Doubleday, 2000) and Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails: The Untold Story of How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War (HarperCollins, 2006). His commentaries on current events have been published in the Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, and other leading publications.Presidents Clinton and Bush each appointed Chairman Wheeler a trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he served for 12 years. He is also the former Chairman and President of the Foundation for the National Archives, the non-profit organization dedicated to telling the American Story through its documents, and a former board member of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
Join us on December 2 to hear Chairman Wheeler share his vision for the FCC, followed by an engaging discussion with the Chairman about Washington, leadership, and how his time at Ohio State prepared him for his distinguished career in telecommunications and venture capital.
4:15 – 5:15 pm: Policy address, followed by a conversation and Q&A with Chairman Wheeler
5:15 – 6 pm: Reception for all attendees in the Ohio Union Performance Hall.
This event is open to all. Please register online.