Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez announced today the appointment of Robert C. Cresanti to serve as Chief Privacy Officer for the Department, concurrent with his responsibilities as Under Secretary for Technology. Cresanti would be the highest-ranking official to serve in this capacity in the federal government.
"Information privacy and security is of primary importance to us here at Commerce, and we are fortunate to have Robert Cresanti's expertise to call upon," said Secretary Gutierrez. "I am confident that Robert's background, experience, and concern for privacy and security make him well suited to take on the role of Chief Privacy Officer for the Department of Commerce." Under Secretary Cresanti will be involved in overseeing Departmental activities related to the development and implementation of federal privacy laws, policies and practices, and will coordinate with the Department's Chief Information Officer and other Departmental staff to ensure internal privacy, particularly the integrity of the Department's information systems.
Under Secretary Cresanti has extensive experience and a strong personal interest dealing with personally identifiable information related to banking and financial institutions and transactions, especially identity theft. Beginning with his staff work in the early 1990s in the U.S. Senate, he helped shape key legislation affecting information privacy and security, such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the CAN-SPAM Act, and the FACT Act. He also applied his expertise in this area as Staff Director for the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, and as Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Financial Services and Technology for the Senate Banking Committee.
Prior to becoming Under Secretary, Cresanti served as Vice President of Public Policy at the Business Software Alliance. Previously, he was Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Information Technology Association of America. Mr. Cresanti received his B.A. degree from Austin College and his J.D. degree from Baylor University.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
