Ambassador David A. Gross (born 1954) is one of the world’s foremost experts on international telecommunications, having served for nearly eight years as the senior United States government official responsible for representing the U.S. on global telecommunications issues. During his lengthy tenure, he addressed the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and led more U.S. delegations to major international telecommunication conferences than anyone in modern history. He is currently a partner in the preeminent Communications Practice of Wiley Rein LLP where he draws on his more than 25 years of experience as a global policy maker and corporate executive to assist U.S. companies seeking to enter or expand international businesses, as well as non-U.S. companies and organizations seeking to invest in, monitor and understand the U.S. market. Ambassador Gross also advises foreign companies on non-U.S. countries and opportunities and informs clients regarding the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Organization for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD), Asia Pacific Economic Cooperative (APEC), as well as other international bodies.

Prior to joining Wiley Rein, Ambassador Gross served as the U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, U.S. Department of State (2001–2009), where he had overall responsibility for the formulation and advocacy of international communications policy for the United States. He was appointed by President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate for the rank of Ambassador.

While at the Department of State, Ambassador Gross led U.S. delegations to several major international telecommunications conferences, including the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference (2002, 2006), ITU World Telecommunication Development Conferences (2002, 2006) and ITU World Telecommunication Standardization Assemblies (2004, 2008). He also led U.S. delegations to three APEC Ministerial Meetings in Shanghai, Lima and Bangkok.

Ambassador Gross was the head U.S. government negotiator and head of the delegation for the multilateral preparatory conferences for both phases of the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

' "Heads of State" World Summit on the Information Society

World Summit on the Information Society

The World Summit on the Information Society was a pair of United Nations-sponsored conferences about information, communication and, in broad terms, the information society that took place in 2003 in Geneva and in 2005 in Tunis...

 and was a member of the UN Information and Communications Technologies Task Force and co-led the U.S. delegation to the formal Summits in Geneva (2003) and Tunis (2005). Ambassador Gross also led interagency telecommunications delegations to seven countries, conducted bilateral discussions at senior levels with representatives from more than 50 countries and provided commercial and policy advocacy on behalf of U.S. companies in markets around the world.

Ambassador Gross was the National Executive Director of Lawyers for the Bush-Cheney campaign (2000) and served as Washington Counsel for AirTouch Communications (acquired by Vodafone in 1999), then the world’s largest wireless telecommunications company (1994–2000). From 1979-1993, he was in private practice at the law firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan.

Ambassador Gross received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

 and received his Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 (J.D) from Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 Law School. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. For many years, he has been active with various bar associations, including the Federal Communications Bar Association

Federal Communications Bar Association

The Federal Communications Bar Association is the voluntary bar association for communications attorneys in the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., the FCBA focuses primarily on the regulatory agencies of the Federal Communications Commission and the state public utility...

(in which he has twice been elected to be an officer and has often served as co-chair of various committees) and the International Bar Association

International Bar Association

The International Bar Association is an international association of lawyers and lawyers' associations. The IBA's stated purpose is to promote an exchange of information between legal associations worldwide, support the independence of the judiciary and the right of lawyers to practice their...

 (in which he has been vice-chair of the Communications Committee).
Ambassador Gross currently resides in Bethesda, Maryland

Bethesda, Maryland

Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...

with his wife and son.

External links

• http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/46292.htm
• http://www.wileyrein.com/index.cfm