FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler says he will name Paul de Sa as chief of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis. Jay Schwarz will continue in the role of acting deputy chief of OSP.
“Paul is the ideal person to lead OSP as we pursue our agenda of promoting innovation and competition and protecting consumers,” said Wheeler, noting his “business insight, technical expertise, and policy experience.”
de Sa previously held this same position during the tenure of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, from 2009–2012. He will replace Elizabeth Biley Andrion, who has served as the acting chief of OSP since January and had announced her intention to leave at the end of the month.
Andrion has served in a variety of positions throughout the FCC. She has led OSP under four different chairmen, and served as a senior legal advisor for Chairman Kevin Martin and as chief counsel for Chairman Genachowski.
“We thank Elizabeth for her outstanding work at the commission, said FCC Chief of Staff Ruth Milkman. “She is an extraordinary manager, as well as an astute policymaker, and has brought those considerable skills to bear across several administrations.”
Most recently, de Sa worked at Bernstein Research as the senior analyst covering U.S. telecommunications. He began his role there in 2012, after leaving the commission.
Prior to working for the FCC, de Sa was a partner in McKinsey & Company’s Washington and Seoul offices, where he worked in the telecom/media, private equity and corporate finance practices.
de Sa holds an undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge, a doctorate in theoretical physics from Oxford, was a John F. Kennedy Memorial Scholar at MIT and researched technology policy as a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard.
The Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis advises the commissioners on policy initiatives, develops strategic plans and helps to identify the agency’s policy objectives, in addition to providing research and analysis regarding emerging communications issues.
