Participant Biographies

Simon Bensasson is head of the International Cooperation Unit, Commission of the European Union. He received a degree in Architecture in 1969 and one in Computer Science in 1972. Following a period of work as a consultant in computing for the construction industry he formed Bensasson & Chalmers Ltd, a software company in Cambridge UK, developing novel Database Management System (DBMS) and Information Management Systems. He represented the UK in various European user associations and chaired the Confederation of European Computer User Associates (CECUA) working group on standards for five years. He joined the European Commission in 1989, whose informatics architecture he had previously helped establish.

James V. DeLong is a senior fellow at The Progress & Freedom Foundation where he directs the Center for the Study of Digital Property.   Before joining the Foundation, Jim was senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. He also served as general counsel of the National Legal Center for the Public Interest, research director of the Administrative Conference of the United States, and assistant director for special projects in the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. His book, Property Matters: How Property Rights Are Under Assault - And Why You Should Care, was published in 1997, and he has written widely on copyright and related issues. DeLong is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.  

Timothy C. Finton is Senior Counselor for International Communications and Information Policy at the U.S. Department of State. Finton covers a range of communications and information policy issues, including telecommunications trade and Internet and electronic commerce policy. He is senior advisor to Ambassador David A. Gross, the U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy. He represents the State Department in telecommunications negotiations before the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as bilaterally with the European Union and its Member States. He has served as Chairman of the U.S. Delegation to the Committee on Information, Computer and Communications Policy of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris and has represented the U.S. Government before meetings of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva. Prior to the State Department, Mr. Finton served with the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. There he was Policy Advisor to the Offices of Telecommunications and European Community Affairs, as well as serving as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for International Trade. Mr. Finton is a summa cum laude graduate of Ohio University. He also has received a Master of Arts in jurisprudence from Oxford University and a Juris Doctor from The American University Law School.

Hon. Raymond L. Gifford became president of The Progress & Freedom Foundation in January 2003, after serving as chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Law School. Before his appointment by Governor Bill Owens, Gifford served as First Assistant Attorney General under Colorado Attorney General Gale Norton. He began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Richard Matsch of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, and worked for two law firms, Kirkland & Ellis and Baker & Hostetler. He received a bachelor's degree from St. John's College in Annapolis, and a J.D. from the University of Chicago.

Robert Kramer is director of global public policy for CompTIA, where he is responsible for driving the association's worldwide public policy efforts and coordinating initiatives to promote the policy-related interests of the members of CompTIA. Prior to CompTIA, Kramer managed International Government Relations at Bank of America and represented the organization on a variety of international, banking, trade and technology issues for eight years. Kramer also served as chairman of the Coalition of Service Industries' Electronic Commerce Working Group, and on the Department of Commerce Services Industry and Electronic Commerce Trade Advisory Committees. He was a founding member of the Transatlantic Financial Leaders Group that played a key role in successfully completing the 1997 WTO Financial Services Agreement. He received both master's and bachelor's degrees in Foreign Service from Georgetown University as well as a master's degree in medieval history from The Catholic Unive rsity of America. Kramer was also a US delegate on the FTAA Electronic Commerce Advisory Committee.

Thomas Lenard is a senior fellow and vice president for research at The Progress & Freedom Foundation. He was vice president of a Washington, DC-based economics consulting firm and served in senior positions at the Office of Management and Budget, the Federal Trade Commission and the Council on Wage and Price Stability. He was a member of the economics faculty at the University of California, Davis, and has been a visiting economist at the Brookings Institution. He formerly served as president of the National Economists Club. Lenard is the author or coauthor of numerous books and articles on electricity, antitrust, privacy and other regulatory issues. Recent publications include The Digital Economy Fact Book; Privacy and the Commercial Use of Personal Information; and Deregulating Electricity: The Federal Role. Lenard received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and his Ph.D. from Brown University.

Solveig Singleton is a senior adjunct fellow at The Progress & Freedom Foundation. She is the former director of information studies for the Cato Institute. She has also served as a senior technology analyst for the Competitive Enterprise Institute's Project on Technology and Innovation. Singleton also served as vice chair of publications for the Telecommunications and Electronic Media Practice Group of the Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy Studies from 1996-1999. She is the author of many provocative articles on technology law and policy. Her articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Wall Street Journal, and The Journal of Commerce, and other papers as well as in academic journals. She is the co-editor of two books, Regulators' Revenge (1998) and Economic Casualties (1999). Her undergraduate degree is from Reed College, where she majored in philosophy. She then graduated cum laude from Cornell Law School and worked for two years at a boutique telecommunications law firm.

Jonathan Zuck is President of the Association for Competitive Technology. Since assuming leadership of ACT, Zuck has provided analysis, commentary and background information on a wide range of technology issues to the media, the public and Congress. He has been called on as a technology expert for the major news networks including CNN, CNBC and ABC. His writing has also appeared in trade publications including PC Magazine, PC Week, Windows Tech Journal and in several books. Prior to joining ACT, Zuck served as Director of Technical Services at the Spectrum Technology Group in Washington, D.C., a consulting firm specializing in client/server, Internet and data warehouse solutions development. In 1988, Zuck founded and served as President of User Friendly, Inc., of Washington, D.C., a company providing consulting and software development services to local businesses. In 1996, he joined Financial Dynamics as Vice President of Technology, where he set the standard for innovation in technical architecture, career management and employee empowerment.