4 Apr 2007

Anthony Michael Rutkowski

Biography - Resumé

Currently the Vice-President for Regulatory Affairs and Standards at VeriSign, Inc. - the leading global provider of trusted infrastructure services for telecommunication, content, Internet, and ECommerce sectors.  In that capacity, he develops, coordinates, files, and articulates VeriSign regulatory and strategic technical interests in governmental and industry forums worldwide, as well as provides regulatory counsel to the company.

He is also a Distinguished Senior Research Fellow, at the Georgia Institute of Technology Nunn School Center for International Strategy Technology and Policy.  In December 2006, he was appointed by the FCC as a member of the WARN Act Advisory Committee to develop a next generation national emergency alert capability for Commercial Mobile Radio Systems.  He currently participates in numerous global technical standards and policy forums dealing with Identity Management, Next Generation Networks, National Security, and Law Enforcement Support, including serving as President of the Global LI Industry Forum.  He also participates on the advisory boards for Telecommunications Policy and Info magazines.

He is an engineer-lawyer who extensively uses and innovates with many of these technologies; and developed a career of following strategically important developments and turning them into business opportunities – carving out a 45 year career as a highly visible and well-known global enterprise strategist, public official, organization leader, consultant, lecturer, and author in both the Internet and telecom worlds, in the U.S. and internationally.  Positions include the private sector (VeriSign, SAIC, General Magic, Sprint International, Horizon House, Pan American Engineering, General Electric, Evening News Association) government (Federal Communications Commission, the International Telecommunication Union, Cape Canaveral City Council), academic (Internet Society, MIT, and NY Law School), and consulting as NGI Associates.

Over recent years he has participated in such diverse activities a Guest Editor of the IEEE Internet Computing special Millennium Edition, co-producer of the Global Next Generation Internet Conference, and a columnist for Communications Week International; co-founded diverse international organizations: Internet Law and Policy Forum (founding member), and has participated in Internet projects preparing reports by the Aspen Institute, the Rand Corp, the International World Wide Web Conference Committee (Board), Register of Copyrights, the President's Framework for Global Electronic Commerce task force, and the Harvard Kennedy School GII Project. Featured twice in the Washington Post, and listed in the 1996 roundup issue of Inter@ctive Week as one the 25 "Driving Forces of Cyberspace," and recognized at the White House in the USA. and internationally for analyzing and shaping the global commercial, public policy, legal, economic, and societal directions.

Previous Positions

Science Applications International Corporation, Herndon VA

At the beginning of 2000, SAIC’s Network Solutions group named him to the position of Vice President, Internet Strategy.  SAIC in 2000 sold the Network Solutions business to VeriSign, Inc.

NGI Associates, Oak Hill VA

NGI Associates provided consulting services for some of the world's leading corporations, agencies and leaders related to the entire panoply of unfolding Internet-related and new media technologies, markets, opportunity discovery, and strategies.  Clients included SAIC, ASCII Corporation, and the White House Presidential Advisor for Electronic Commerce.

NGI Associates operated the Center for Next Generation Internet as a global industry organization that served as a means for advising and collaborating on new Internet-based platforms.  In early 2000, it hosted the first International Next Generation Internet conference in London – bringing together many of the networking leaders over the previous 30 years.

The Center was not affiliated in any way with the Next Generation Internet initiatives of the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy or any other public body. NGI.ORG was made possible through a significant grant from the ASCII Corporation

General Magic, Inc., Sunnyvale CA

At the beginning of 1996, General Magic, Inc., named him to the position of Vice-President - Internet Business Development. He was responsible for developing the company’s Internet-related business strategies, opportunities, product positioning, and Federal Systems division. General Magic was a publicly traded company created in 1990 by fifteen of the largest companies in the telecommunications, computer, and consumer electronics business to pursue the development of key advanced network technologies and services. Two platforms were initially pursued - intelligent agents that can automatically travel to network sites for sophisticated transactions or information gathering, and a user-friendly personal digital communicator operating system with numerous applications, especially Internet access, email and WWW browsing. In late 1997, the General Magic restructured the company and repositioned it to focus primarily on state-of-the-art voice user interface services, until it ceased operations in 2002.

Internet Society, Reston VA

Named Executive Director of the Internet Society in February 1994 after co-conceiving the Society in 1991, and serving as Vice-President and founding trustee for two years, representing the business communities. He created and scaled its headquarters and international secretariat as a model "Internet-empowered enterprise" with a highly motivated staff team, and developed its public relations, marketing, and mission, and directed the continuing affairs of the organization. As a result, he remains a significant voice on current and future Internet developments today, having appeared in numerous television, radio and print media worldwide. The Society was established as a global international organization of technical professionals to foster the growth and development of the Internet worldwide.

Sprint International, Reston VA

From 1992-94, he was Director of Technology Assessment in the Strategic Planning Group of Sprint International. His principal responsibility was leading the company in new and innovative directions through business planning, development and incorporation of advanced technologies and applications generally, and internetworking technologies specifically. He followed and coordinated a broad array of technological, economic, business, trade and institutional activities in the information- telecommunication field, internal and external to Sprint, aimed at maintaining or deriving new Sprint business opportunities. He also served as White House liaison - conceiving and building its first World Wide Web implementation - and was one of Sprint's more visible strategic public figures.

International Telecommunication Union, Geneva

From 1987-1992, he was Counselor to two different Secretary-Generals of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva - the world's intergovernmental organization for telecommunications. He was responsible for analysis of major developments in the field and formulation of policies and international provisions, including many technical, legal, regulatory, organization management and GATT trade issues that arose at the highest international business and governmental levels. One of his principal accomplishments are the provisions in the International Telecommunication Regulations that provided the legal basis for international public and enterprise Internets. He came to the ITU in 1987 as head of its Telecommunication Regulations and Relations Between Members Division - which supported the coordination of laws, regulations and operational information among national administrations and public telecom service providers.

Horizon House Publishing, Norwood MA

From 1986-87, he served as associate publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the telecommunication industry's leading trade magazine, Telecommunications (International and North American editions)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA

From 1986-92, he was a part-time Research Associate, contributing to projects and occasional seminars dealing with HDTV technologies, Open Network Architectures, and technology-related public policies

New York Law School, New York NY

From 1980 to 1983, he was a part-time member of the adjunct faculty in New York Law School's graduate program in telecommunications law, and taught the international telecommunications law class while working at the FCC.

Federal Communications Commission, Washington DC

From 1979 to 1986, he was staff advisor to the two Chief Scientists of the FCC analyzing and shaping a wide variety of key domestic and international science and technology policies and strategies in the telecommunications field within the FCC and among other government agencies. This included Computer II and III and ISDN proceedings, international satellite treaty negotiations, and optical, spread spectrum, Open Network Architectures, and other strategic technologies and policies.

From 1974 to 1979, staff technical advisor to the FCC Cable Television Bureau and special international advisor in the Office of Plans and Policy. He was responsible for most of the FCC's technical regulations, headed the team which built the first integrated engineering- regulatory information system, served as a member of the Commission's ITU World Administrative Radio Conference Policy committee, and technical advisor to the UNESCO MacBride Commission on International Communication Problems.

City of Cape Canaveral, FL

Elected to local public office as City Councilman of the City of Cape Canaveral, Florida, as a leading community legislative reformer (1972-74). He sued the City pro se in Federal court to run for local office, establishing a precedent throughout Florida; ran a successful election campaign; codified the City's entire legal system; and wrote environmental and telecommunications legislation that became models for the Florida League of Cities.

Pan American Design Engineering, Kennedy Space Center FL
General Electric Apollo Systems Division, Cocoa Beach FL

Direct responsibility for design engineering and management support of the Apollo project communication systems and Shuttle control systems at the Kennedy Space Center, employed by the General Electric Co. Apollo Systems Division (1967-74), and Pan American Design Engineering. The position resulted in his being part of the Apollo Saturn V Launch Team .

Evening News Association, Detroit MI
Radio Frequency Measurements, Detroit MI
ABC Broadcasting, Southfield MI
Detroit Public Broadcasting, Detroit MI

Performed systems design and operations as a broadcast engineer with the Evening News Association (WWJ-TV, WWJ and WWJ-FM), American Broadcasting Company (WXYZ), Detroit Public Broadcasting (WTVS); owned a small electronics company, Radio Frequency Measurements

Wayne State University, Detroit MI

From 1962 to 1965 he was a part-time research microbiologist at Wayne State University where his work led to the discovery of a new organism-produced enzyme working with the late noted microbiologist Dr. Harold Rossmore.

Education

Other Activities and Skills

Published Works

A prolific writer for most of his careers, he has authored or contributed to several books, written hundreds of published articles, reports, presentations, and columns over the past three decades. Some of his legacy materials can be found here, and here, and here.  He has testified before both the Science and Telecommunication Subcommittees of Congress as an expert witness, and remains a visible and prolific analyst-writer - appearing at a great many industry forums domestically and internationally.

General Interests

Born in 1943 in Detroit, Michigan, with a Polish-Flemish ancestral heritage, he enjoys biking, mountain trekking, and raising palms, is married to sinologist-economist-analyst-writer Kathleen McGlynn Rutkowski krutkowski@netteach.com,  He aspires to being a good barista.

trutkowski@verisign.com, trutkowski@netmagic.com