Apple has put a new face on its efforts to lobby the federal government, bringing in Cynthia Hogan — a Washington cognoscente with close ties to the White House — to lead its office in the District.
Hogan will serve as vice president for public policy and government affairs for the Americas beginning April 29, according to Politico. She will report to former EPA administrator and current Apple environment and policy chief Lisa Jackson.
"Cynthia's intellect and judgment have consistently distinguished her as a uniquely talented professional and we're lucky to have her join the team at Apple," Jackson told the publication.
Hogan attended Oberlin College and the University of Virginia School of Law. She began her Washington career as an aide to then-Senator Joe Biden in 1993 and eventually served as Staff Director of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
After leaving the Senate to raise a family, Hogan rejoined Biden in the White House. She served a wide-ranging advisory role and is credited with shepherding Sonia Sotomayor through her nomination to the Supreme Court.
Before joining Apple, Hogan spent two years lobbying on behalf of the National Football League.
24 Comments
This is a really good move on Apple's part. Apple really has no choice but to hire lobbyists in order to get it through the heads of these morons in government the dangers of forcing companies to have back doors in their products.
Does Apple hire anybody that doesn't work for Democrats? There is a chance the next administration could be Republican. Might be a good idea to have a few Republicans in Apple's lobbying department...that is if Lisa Jackson can put her bias aside.
In my view, there is little chance of a Republican administration, at least with the current crop of potential candidates. My observation is that the Republicans, unlike the Democrats, have evolved a primary system that relies on hyper-partisanism that actually hurts their chances in the general election for President, where tastes tend to run more mainstream. The system they have, however, seems to work well for them on the Congressional level; but Congress is really -- far more so than the choice for President -- what needs to be fixed in this next election.
It's about time. They need an army of lobbyists. I know this goes against their basic sensibilities and seems totally unnecessary for making great products. However, they can't make great things if they are harassed by the government as well as the usual flakes and a zillion court cases. It is so apparent that the govt loathes Apple for some reason/s. I really don't understand the DOJ at all! Apple is the flagship corporate ambassador of America!! Perhaps when the current administration leaves office we can see some light shed on this. Remember, Obama has been in office since 2008, almost all of Apple's best years. I now think they were best years in spite of this govt. The SEC should have been all over some of the financial aspects of the stock market itself, but is underfunded or incompetent or crooked. My family for one, would like to see some of the value of the stock unleashed. AAPL seems to belong to the hedge fund guys. I often wonder how it is that the stock seems to go up and down in what looks to me like a controlled manner. The other big tech stocks seem to bounce around on impulse. Those of us who have a lot of the stock are so tired of the negative headlines and %40 crashes every two years. There are lots of stocks I follow and none are so trashed as Apple is.