Pai Names FCC Bureau, Office Chiefs

New FCC chairman Ajit Pai has named new bureau chiefs and heads of various FCC offices, as well as signaling those who will be remaining in their current posts, including longtime engineering guru Julie Knapp and Incentive Auction Task Force chief Gary Epstein.

Longtime Media Bureau chief Bill Lake will be leaving at the end of the month. Succeeding him in an acting capacity is Michelle Carey, who had been deputy bureau chief.

Named acting chief of the Enforcement Bureau will be Michael Carowitz, who had been deputy chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. The Enforcement Bureau chief had been Travis LeBlanc.

Acting chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau is Lisa Fowlkes, who had been acting deputy chief of the Enforcement Bureau.

Nese Guendelsberger is acting chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. She had been deputy chief of the International Bureau.

Kris Monteith is acting chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau. She had been deputy chief.

Tom Sullivan is acting chief of the International Bureau. Hehad been associate chief and chief of staff of the International Bureau.

Wayne Leighton has been named acting director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis. He had been senior economist in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.

Timothy Strachan is acting director of the Office of Legislative Affairs. He had been an attorney advisor in that office since 2008.

Continuing in their current posts are Alison Kutler, chief of the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau; Julius Knapp, chief engineer (and a 42-year vet); Mark Stephens, managing director; Gary Epstein, director of the Incentive Auction Task Force; Sanford Williams, acting director of the Office of Communications Business Opportunities; Mark Wigfield, acting director of the Office of Media Relations; and Larry Hudson, acting director of the Office of Workplace Diversity.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.