Kent Lassman (born June 17, 1974) is the president and CEO of the

Competitive Enterprise Institute The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a non-profit libertarian think tank founded by the political writer Fred L. Smith Jr. on March 9, 1984, in Washington, D.C., to advance principles of limited government, free enterprise, and individu ...

, an American free market

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

. His analysis and commentaries focus on regulatory law and economics.

Early life and education

Lassman was raised and educated in

Geneseo, Illinois Geneseo is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,539. Geneseo is 20 miles east of the Quad Cities, at the intersection of Interstate 80, U.S. Route 6 and Illinois Route 82. Geneseo is well k ...

. In 1994 he began a career in public policy as a

research assistant A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, a research institute or a privately held organization, for the purpose of assisting in academic or private research. Research assistants are not in ...

at the

Progress and Freedom Foundation The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) was an American market-oriented think tank based in Washington, D.C. that studied the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. Its mission was to educate policymakers, opinion leaders and ...

, one of the first technology-focused policy think tanks. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and politics from The Catholic University of America and a master's degree in public administration from North Carolina State University.

Career

Lassman held a series of positions at free market organizations throughout the 1990s and 2000s. He was an

American Swiss Foundation The American Swiss Foundation is a private non-profit foreign policy organization headquartered in New York. It was founded in 1945 "to preserve and strengthen the historic friendship between the United States and Switzerland". Conference The mai ...

Young Leader in 2017, awarded the E.A. Morris Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in 2006 by the

John Locke Foundation The John Locke Foundation (JLF) is a conservative think tank based in North Carolina. The organization was founded in 1990 to work "for truth, for freedom, and for the future of North Carolina." It is named after the philosopher John Locke, who was ...

. and named an Abraham Lincoln Fellow in Constitutional Government at the

Claremont Institute The Claremont Institute is a conservative think tank based in Upland, California. The institute was founded in 1979 by four students of Harry V. Jaffa. It produces the ''Claremont Review of Books,'' ''The American Mind'', and other publications. ...

for 1998–2000. At

Citizens for a Sound Economy Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) (1984–2004) was a conservative political group operating in the United States. It was established in 1984 by Charles and David Koch of Koch Industries. Ron Paul was appointed as the first chairman of the or ...

, Lassman authored Congressional testimony and policy analyses on emerging Internet policy, telecommunications regulation, and reforms of the Federal Communications Commission. At the Progress and Freedom Foundation, he was the founding director of a program to teach regulatory economics to state utility commissioners. He also led a campaign to get candidates in the

2000 United States presidential election The 2000 United States presidential election was the 54th quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000. Republican Party (United States), Republican candidate George W. Bush, the gover ...

to speak on internet issues. Since 2016, Lassman has led the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Personal life

Lassman lives in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

with his wife Dana and 4 children. He is an endurance athlete who has competed in open-water

marathon swimming Marathon swimming is a class of open water swimming defined by long distances (at least ) and traditional rules based in English Channel swimming. Unlike marathon foot-races which have a specifically defined distance, ''marathon swims'' vary in ...

ultramarathon An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...

running, Xtreme triathlon, and

Ironman triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely consider ...

. Since 2015 he has served on the board of Tri Equal, an organization dedicated to fairness and the development of gender equity in triathlon.

References

External links

CEI page

C-SPAN page
1974 births Living people Catholic University of America alumni North Carolina State University alumni American chief executives {{Improve categories, date=November 2020

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links