Clarence "Larry" Irving Jr. (born July 7, 1955 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

) is the former Vice President of Global Government Affairs for

Hewlett-Packard Company The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...

. He joined the company on September 9, 2009 and left in 2011.

Career

Irving is president and CEO of the Irving Information Group, a telecommunication and information technology strategic planning and consulting business based in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Irving launched his business in October 1999. Prior to starting his business, he was head of the National Telecommunications Infrastructure Administration (NTIA), an agency of the

United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...

that serves as the President's principal adviser on telecommunications policies pertaining to the United States' economic and technological advancement and to regulation of the telecommunications industry. He was a principal architect of President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

's telecommunications, Internet and e-commerce policies and initiatives and acted as a senior adviser to the President and to Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...

and the

United States Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

during his tenure from 1993 to 1999. Irving was a member of the Clinton-Gore transition team focusing on telecommunications issues. More recently, he worked with President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

's transition team on science and tech agencies.

Prior offices

Before becoming head of NTIA, Irving was a Senior Counsel for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance. While working for the committee, he helped draft and negotiate the Cable Television Consumer Protection Act, the Children's Television Act and Television Decoder Circuitry Act. He has also served as Legislative Director and Counsel for U.S. congressman

Mickey Leland George Thomas "Mickey" Leland III (November 27, 1944 – August 7, 1989) was an anti-poverty activist who later became a congressman from the Texas 18th District and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. He was a Democrat. Early years Leland w ...

, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

from the 18th District in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Irving was active with the

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce ...

while Leland was its chair. He was an Associate with the law firm Hogan and Hartson, the oldest major law firm headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Published reports

While serving the NTIA, Irving authored three reports entitled "Falling Through the Net" that highlighted the scope and the consequences of inequities in access to information technology. He helped define the scope of and bring to public attention to the

digital divide The digital divide is the unequal access to digital technology, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and the internet. The digital divide creates a division and inequality around access to information and resources. In the Information Age in ...

, a term referring to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology and those with very limited or no access at all.

Other activities and honors

He also sits on the board in an official or adviser capacity for a variety of organizations, including

Internews Internews Network, now Internews, is a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in California, formed in 1982. It was founded by David M. Hoffman, Kim Spencer, and Evelyn Messinger. The president and CEO is Jeanne Bourgault. Internews Europe is an in ...

, ReliabilityFirst Corporation, Waggener Edstrom, the

Education Development Center Education Development Center (EDC) is a global nonprofit organization to improve education, promote health, and expand economic opportunity across the United States and in more than 80 other countries. EDC headquarters are in Waltham, Massachu ...

, Annenberg School of the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

Law School and the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. He was named one of the 50 most influential persons in the "Year of the Internet" by ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' magazine in 1994. In 2019, he was inducted into the

Internet Hall of Fame The Internet Hall of Fame is an honorary lifetime achievement award administered by the Internet Society (ISOC) in recognition of individuals who have made significant contributions to the development and advancement of the Internet.

Education

Irving is a 1976

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

graduate of

in Chicago,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, and holds the degree of J.D. from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in Palo Alto,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where he was class president.

References

External links

Larry Irving Biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, Larry 1955 births American chief executives Businesspeople from New York City Hewlett-Packard people Living people Northwestern University alumni Stanford Law School alumni