Julius Genachowski

Julius Genachowski (born August 19, 1962) is an American lawyer and businessman.

He entered Columbia College of Columbia University as a pre-med student, but earned a Bachelor of Arts in History in 1985, magna cum laude.

He was an Editor of the Columbia Daily Spectator.

After working in Washington, D.C., for former New York Congressman Chuck Schumer, he entered Harvard Law School and earned a Juris Doctor (1991), also magna cum laude.

He was a Notes Editor at the Harvard Law Review when his classmate Barack Obama was its president.

Genachowski clerked for The Honorable Abner J. Mikva on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and then for Justices William J. Brennan and David Souter at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Genachowski was on the staffs of the Select Committee investigating the Iran-Contra Affair and then U.S. Representative Chuck Schumer.

In 1994 FCC Chairman Reed Hundt hired him as a senior legal advisor; he was chief counsel 1996-1997.

He was Chief of Business Operations and a member of Barry Diller's Office of the Chairperson at IAC/InterActiveCorp and executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.

He earned at least $2.5 million when Vivendi acquired Universal assets in 2003.

He had previously served on the Boards of Directors of Expedia, Hotels.com, and Ticketmaster.

Genachowski was a co-founder of LaunchBox Digital and Rock Creek Ventures; a Special Advisor at General Atlantic; and a member of the Boards of Directors at The Motley Fool, Web.com, Mark Ecko Enterprises, and Beliefnet.

In April 2006, he was appointed to the Board of JackBe.

He served on the board of Common Sense Media, a leading organization seeking to improve the media lives of children and families and the Advisory Board of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2).

He also helped found the New Resource Bank, the country's first commercial green bank.

For Senator Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential Campaign, Genachowski was Chairperson of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Policy Working Group, which created the Obama Technology and Innovation Plan.

He also advised and guided the Campaign's innovative use of technology and the Internet for grassroots engagement and participation.

After the November election, he co-led the Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform Group for President-Elect Obama's Transition Team.

Businessweek called the U.S. a "wireless backwater" prior to 2008, while Genachowski praised the mobile industry for "America's leadership in mobile" in 2009.

This followed announcements of upgrade plans by cable operators in 2008.

He became the Federal Communications Commission Chairman on June 29, 2009.

On January 12, 2009, several news outlets reported that Genachowski would be President-Elect Obama's choice to head the FCC.

This was confirmed by a press release on March 3, 2009.

On June 25, 2009, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Julius Genachowski as FCC Chairman.

Wired named "A New FCC" one of the "Top 7 Disruptions of the Year" after Genachowski announced plans to create the country's first national broadband plan, reallocate spectrum from over-the-air TV broadcasters to meet demand for wireless usage, and pursue rules to preserve Internet freedom and openness.

According to an opinion piece by Genachowski, wireless providers increased wireless infrastructure investment more than 60% between 2009 and 2013 and the United States led the world in the deployment and adoption of 4G/LTE mobile broadband.

A study by the ITIF made similar assertions.

However, numerous press outlets subsequently questioned the findings.

In terms of wired broadband, the Genachowski FCC reported that networks capable of 100 megabits per second passed less than 20% of U.S. homes in 2009 and over 80% in 2012, putting the U.S. near the top of the world in deployment of broadband infrastructure.

According to an opinion piece by Genachowski, American firms installed more fiber optic cable for high-speed broadband in 2011 and 2012 than those of any nation other than China, and more than all European nations combined.

On March 22, 2013, he announced he would be leaving the FCC in the coming weeks.

Genachowski announced his resignation on March 22, 2013.

He will join the Aspen Institute as a senior fellow.

On January 6, 2014, it was announced that Genachowski had joined The Carlyle Group.

He transitioned from Partner and Managing Director to Senior Advisor in early 2024.

Genachowski was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, and grew up in Great Neck, New York, the son of Adele and Azriel Genachowski.

He attended yeshiva and studied in Israel.

On January 6, 2014, it was announced that Genachowski returned to the corporate world to take a post at The Carlyle Group.

There he will reportedly concentrate on global technology, media, and telecommunications investments.

In addition, he announced in January 2014 that, upon leaving the FCC, he would begin work for the Carlyle Group.