President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the NTIA, Larry Strickli...
President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the NTIA, Larry Strickling, has investments in 17 telecom, technology and media companies, according to his financial disclosure documents. The former Level 3 executive has $15,001 to $50,000 of stock in that company.…
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His investments total at least $3 million and include many familiar technology and telecom names. Among them are AT&T, Cisco, Clearwire, Comcast, Disney, Intel, Microsoft and Verizon, according to the report we obtained from the Office of Government Ethics. The office received it March 31. Strickling’s biggest technology investments were Hewlett Packard and IBM, each valued at $100,001-$250,000. Part of the IBM stake was held in a trust, as were some of his other investments. Many of his investments may go into a blind trust if he’s confirmed as NTIA administrator and assistant Commerce secretary, said Meredith McGehee, policy director of the Campaign Legal Center. In such cases, the department and Office of Government Ethics likely would conduct a “very close ethics scrub” of the investments, she said. “This is a position that potentially has far-reaching impact in the information technology field, and therefore it does deserve close scrutiny.” Strickling’s financial disclosure form, as is typical, lists ranges for valuations and our analysis used the lowest figures. Strickling held $50,001-$100,000 of common stock in General Electric, owner of NBC Universal, and less than $15,000 in shares of McGraw-Hill, owner of TV stations, we found. He also invested in communications companies based outside the U.S., with holdings in France Telecom and Telecom New Zealand. Strickling’s 2008 income was at least $288,000. That included $125,000 in severance from Level 3, salary from the Obama campaign and the Office of the President Elect. Julius Genachowski, Obama’s nominee to head the FCC, also has many technology investments, some of which he may need to divest or put in trusts (CD April 8 p4).