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Mozelle W. Thompson
Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission
In office
December 17, 1997 – August 31, 2004
PresidentBill Clinton
George W. Bush
Preceded byChristine A. Varney
Succeeded byJon Leibowitz
Personal details
BornPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
EducationColumbia University (BA, JD)
Princeton University (MPA)

Mozelle Willmont Thompson[1] is an American attorney who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 1997 to 2004. Thompson was the second African American to serve as a member of the FTC.[2][3]

Education

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Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Thompson attended Columbia University for both his undergraduate and legal education. Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree from Columbia College in 1976 and received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Columbia Law School in 1981.[4] After law school, he attended the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, where he received his M.P.A.[3][5]

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After graduating from law school, Thompson served as a law clerk to judge William M. Hoeveler of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.[5] Thompson later practiced law in the private sector at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in New York, where he worked from 1982 to 1990.[2][3] Thompson has also served in academia, having previously been an adjunct associate professor at Fordham University School of Law.[6]

Thompson later held posts in the public sector, serving as acting executive director, senior vice president and general counsel of the New York State Housing Finance Agency and the State of New York Mortgage Agency.[7][8]

Thompson joined the federal government in 1993, where he joined the Department of the Treasury in 1993 a Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Policy. In this capacity, Thompson oversaw the operations of the Federal Financing Bank and the Office of Corporate Finance, and helped refinance the United States Postal Service (USPS) as well as Oglethorpe Power in Georgia.[2][3][5]

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

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In 1997, Thompson was one of three candidates under consideration to replace Steven Wallman on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).[9] Instead, Thompson was appointed that year President Bill Clinton to serve on the Federal Trade Commission for a term that expired on September 25, 2003.[5] He replaced the vacant seat held by Christine A. Varney and was in office until August 2004, until he was succeeded by Jon Leibowitz.[10][11]

During his tenure at the Federal Trade Commission, he also served as a delegate to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development and chaired its Committee on Consumer Policy.[12] In 2004, Thompson ultimately agreed to support the then-proposed Sony-BMG merger deal, though he stated he had reservations about the potential impact of the deal on the music industry.[13]

As of 2021, Thompson is one of just three African-Americans to have served on the FTC: The other two were A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. (served from 1962-1964) and Pamela Jones Harbour (served from 2003-2009).

Post-FTC career

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In 2008, Thompson served as a team leader in the presidential transition of Barack Obama team in charge of Economics and International Trade, in which he led the review of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.[14][15]

After retiring from public service, he started his eponymous consulting company and advises clients such as Facebook and The Walt Disney Company.[16][17] He served on the advisory board of Facebook for ten years and Samsung's advisory board for three years.[18]

Awards

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In 2014, he received the John Jay Award for outstanding professional achievement from Columbia College, along with Nobel Prize winner Robert Lefkowitz and hedge fund manager, Olympic fencer James Melcher.[16] In 2016, he received Columbia University alumni association's highest honor, the Alumni Medal.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Thompson, Mozelle W. (Mozelle Willmont), 1954- | Author | FRASER | St. Louis Fed". fraser.stlouisfed.org. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
  2. ^ a b c University, © Stanford; Stanford; Complaints, California 94305 Copyright. "Mozelle Thompson". Digital Economy Best Practices Conference 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c d Journal, Bryan GruleyStaff Reporter of The Wall Street (1997-08-13). "Treasury Official Is Expected To Be Nominated to FTC Post". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  4. ^ "Mozelle Thompson Delivers Keynote Address". www.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  5. ^ a b c d "Mozelle W. Thompson". Federal Trade Commission. 2013-07-18. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  6. ^ "Mozelle W. Thompson". Federal Trade Commission. 2013-07-18. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  7. ^ "Treasury Promotes Thompson, Adds Duties". Bond Buyer. 1996-04-10. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  8. ^ Nominations of Christy Carpenter, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; John Horsley, to be an Associate Deputy Secretary of Transportation; Orson Swindle and Mozelle Thompson, to be Commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission; and Robert Shapiro, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs: Hearing Before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress, Second Session, March 10, 1998. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1999. pp. 4–5. ISBN 9780160601309.
  9. ^ Fromson, Brett D. (1997-07-08). "3 CANDIDATES UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR SEC POST". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
  10. ^ Journal, Anne Marie Squeo and John R. WilkeStaff Reporters of The Wall Street (2004-05-12). "Force Behind 'Do Not Call' List To Step Down as FTC Chairman". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  11. ^ September 2004, John Eggerton 03. "Leibowitz Sworn In At FTC". Broadcasting Cable. Retrieved 2020-06-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "FTC Commissioner Mozelle W. Thompson Elected Chair of the OECD's Committee on Consumer Policy". Federal Trade Commission. 2002-03-13. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  13. ^ "U.S. Agency Clears Sony-BMG Music Merger". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2004-07-29. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  14. ^ Warshaw, Shirley Anne, 1950- (16 April 2013). Guide to the White House staff. SAGE Publications. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-60426-604-7. OCLC 764364454.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. (2008-11-14). "In Transition, Ties to Lobbying". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  16. ^ a b "Five Alumni Honored at John Jay Awards Dinner". Columbia College Today. Summer 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  17. ^ "Interview with Mozelle W. Thompson". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  18. ^ "75% of FTC Officials Have Revolving Door Conflicts With Tech Corporations and Other Industries". Public Citizen. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  19. ^ "Columbia Alumni Medal Recipients". Columbia University Alumni Association. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
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