Former congresswoman Susan Molinari was named head of Google?s Washington office on Thursday, increasing the tech giant?s government firepower at a time of rising scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators on high-stakes issues that include privacy and antitrust.
Molinari, a well-liked and well-connected inside player, will begin in mid-March as Google?s vice president of public policy and government relations for the Americas. She will manage policy advocacy and government outreach in North and South America.
Continue ReadingMolinari joins Google from Susan Molinari Strategies, a government affairs consulting firm. When Molinari represented Staten Island in Congress from 1990 to 1997, she was elected to the House GOP majority leadership, making her the highest ranking Republican woman in Congress.
Former Sen. John Sununu, who overlapped with Molinari in the House, said in a phone interview that she is ?quick and sharp? and will be a big asset to Google.
?The Google office in Washington has not had someone with the visibility of a former member of Congress, and with her understanding of the complexities of the legislative process,? Sununu said, ?Google is receiving a higher level of scrutiny. ... When you?re such a large and growing company, you have to have a strong, visible, capable leader in Washington.?
Google is also getting a savvy and experienced communicator: Molinari left Congress to co-anchor "CBS News Saturday Morning.?
Her mission, according to a Google official, is to ?help lawmakers and regulators understand Google?s business ? both the technology and its impact on the economy and our culture.?
Molinari assumes the portfolio of Alan Davidson, who announced in November that he was leaving as head of Google?s Washington policy and lobbying operations. Davidson had opened Google?s Washington office.
David Drummond, Google?s senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer, said in a statement that he is ?excited about Susan joining Google.?
?She's a true trailblazer and her enthusiasm for our technology and its potential to change lives will be a real asset to our team in the Americas,? Drummond said.
Molinari, 53, is a member of one of the capital?s best known political families: She succeeded her father, Rep. Guy Molinari, in Congress, and is married to another former House Republican, William Paxon. Paxon, a former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is a senior adviser at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld.
From Molinari?s official biography: ?Molinari is founder and chair of Susan Molinari Strategies LLC. Prior to this she was a senior principal in the government relations, advocacy and strategy section of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP in Washington, D.C., and prior to that she was chair and CEO of The Washington Group. ?
?Prior to Congress, Ms. Molinari was twice elected to the New York City Council, where she was minority leader. ? She received her M.A., from the State University of New York at Albany, 1982 and a B.A., State University of New York at Albany, 1980.?
This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 2:13 p.m. on February 23, 2012.
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