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Adam Kovacevich

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Adam Kovacevich
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materHarvard University
OccupationLobbyist
Political partyDemocratic Party[1]
Websiteadamkovacevich.com

Adam Kovacevich is an American lobbyist and the CEO and founder of Chamber of Progress. He formerly worked as a Google executive and Democratic aide.[2][3]

Early life and education[edit]

Kovacevich is the son of John J. Kovacevich, a California agriculture businessman who owned the 650-acre non-union Kovacevich Vineyards outside Bakersfield, California.[4][5] He graduated from Harvard University.[4][1]

While at Harvard, Kovacevich befriended Tom Cotton, and would later support several of the Arkansas Republican's political campaigns.[6] Kovacevich said of Cotton, “I support him as a friend, but that doesn’t mean we agree on policies.”[7]

Around 1997, as a student, Kovacevich lobbied Harvard to end a ban on serving grapes that had been organized to express solidarity with a 1986 United Farm Workers grape boycott.[8][9] Supporters of the ban from National Council of La Raza opposed Kovacevich's efforts, saying the grape ban was about respecting the human rights of farmworkers.[8] Kovacevich was successful in having the Harvard grape ban overturned.[8][10][11] In 2000, following the vote by Stanford students to overturn their university's grape ban, the United Farm Workers announced a permanent end to its grape boycott.[12][13]

Career[edit]

After graduating from Harvard, Kovacevich worked in Democratic politics. He served as spokesperson for then-congressman Cal Dooley,[14][15] co-founder of the moderate New Democrat Coalition. He also worked for Senator Joe Lieberman in the United States Senate and on his 2004 presidential campaign[16][17] and for Inez Tenenbaum on her 2004 campaign for the United States Senate in South Carolina.[18][19]

Career at Google[edit]

In 2007, he went to work for Google, where he spent 12 years, eventually becoming senior director of public policy.[20] He launched Google’s public policy blog in 2007.[21] In his role at Google, he helped the company navigate antitrust scrutiny and competition issues.

Beginning in 2009, Kovacevich built a relationship with law professor and future Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member Joshua D. Wright, known for his focus on antitrust issues. As senior manager of issues and policy communications, he reached out to Wright in 2009, emailing him "we've also been trying to do a better job of talking [with] people about Google’s approach to competition, and we’d love to chat with you". Emails show that Wright requested funding for his academic work from Google, saying it would benefit the company "given the otherwise unfriendly antitrust environment that is emerging", which the company agreed to.[22]

Following Donald Trump's election, Kovacevich worked to help Google "build deeper relationships with conservatives" amid government scrutiny, noting the company is "generally seen as liberal by policymakers".[23] Kovacevich left Google in 2019.[24]

Politics[edit]

Kovacevich describes himself as a progressive, though others have disputed this assertion.[1][6] Speaking of Kovacevich, Mike Lux, board chair of American Family Voices, said in 2021 that "there is no evidence that this guy is progressive".[6]

During his time at Google, Kovacevich personally donated to both Democratic and Republican candidates.[6][25] In 2021, Kovacevich expressed support for President Joe Biden’s proposed tax increase on corporations.[26]

Personal life[edit]

According to Kovacevich, he lives in Arlington, Virginia, and is married with three children.[1]

Op-eds and media appearances[edit]

His op-eds, on tech issues, have appeared in media such as the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,[27] The Philadelphia Inquirer,[28] and Fortune,[29] and he has appeared on TV channels such as Cheddar,[30] C-SPAN,[31] and Bloomberg Television.[32]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "About Adam". adamkovacevich.com. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  2. ^ Birnbaum, Emily (30 April 2021). "Leaked Google email reveals ties to new pro-tech group". POLITICO. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  3. ^ Birnbaum, Emily (11 July 2021). "'Nowhere to be found': The internet industry's D.C. powerhouse recedes". Politico PRO. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b Anderson, Caitlin (December 1, 1997). "Non-Unionized Farms Not Exploitative, Says Grape Grower". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  5. ^ "Non-Unionized Farms Not Exploitative, Says Grape Grower | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  6. ^ a b c d Friedman, Dan (April 9, 2021). "An Ex-Google Lobbyist Who Backed Jim Jordan Is Leading Big Tech's Bid to Court the Left". Mother Jones. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  7. ^ Friedman, Dan (9 April 2021). "An ex-Google lobbyist who backed Jim Jordan is leading Big Tech's bid to court the left". Mother Jones. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  8. ^ a b c Millbank, Dana (December 10, 1997). "Sour Grapes? Fine Whine? Students Debate Harvard Ban". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  9. ^ Sullivan, Paul G. (2019-02-28). "The Great Grape Debate". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  10. ^ "Not-So-Sour Grapes". Harvard Magazine. March 1998. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  11. ^ "Sour Grapes: Harvard Students Pound the Table Over Table Grape Boycott | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  12. ^ Rainey, James (22 November 2000). "Farm Workers Union Ends 16-Year Boycott of Grapes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Campus suspends dorm votes as UFW ends grape boycott: 12/00". Stanford Report. 6 December 2000. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  14. ^ Shaw, Donald (April 1, 2021). "House Dem Celebrates the Launch of a Big Tech Lobbying Group". The Brick House Cooperative. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  15. ^ "Adam Kovacevich - Previously held position: Neutron Holdings Inc. (Jan. 2020-Jan. 2021), Head of Government Relations, North America - Congressional Salaries". legistorm.com. LegiStorm. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  16. ^ "Source: Lieberman to Quit if No Wins Tonight". Associated Press. February 3, 2004. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  17. ^ Hardisty, Dianne (February 10, 2006). "In the eye of a political storm". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  18. ^ "Inez Tenenbaum for U.S. Senate (South Carolina) - Summary from LegiStorm". legistorm.com. LegiStorm. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  19. ^ Cillizza, Chris (September 3, 2004). "Carrick Ousted as Tenenbaum Lags". Roll Call. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  20. ^ Reisinger, Sue (March 29, 2021). "Ex-Google Exec Aims To Rekindle Tech-Government Romance". Law360. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  21. ^ Kovacevich, Adam (June 25, 2007). "Our first week". Google Public Policy Blog. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  22. ^ Mullins, Brody (2024-06-06). "The Hidden Life of Google's Secret Weapon". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  23. ^ Tiku, Nitasha (2018-12-10). "Leaked Audio Reveals Google's Efforts to Woo Conservatives". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  24. ^ Mullins, Brody; Mann, Ted (2019-06-12). "Google Axes Lobbyists Amid Growing Government Scrutiny". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  25. ^ "Donor Lookup – KOVACEVICH, ADAM". opensecrets.org. OpenSecrets. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  26. ^ Feiner, Lauren (15 April 2021). "Tech industry group funded by Amazon, Facebook and Google says it supports a corporate tax hike". CNBC. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  27. ^ Kovacevich, Adam (28 September 2021). "Adam Kovacevich: Europe's tech discrimination could reverse Pittsburgh's rebound". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  28. ^ Kovacevich, Adam (1 July 2021). "Regulating big tech: Should Congress pass the most sweeping antitrust bills in generations?". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  29. ^ Kovacevich, Adam (21 December 2021). "Evictions are coming–but these innovations could help". Fortune. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  30. ^ "Cheddar: Judge Rules in Apple v. Epic". Cheddar. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  31. ^ "Chamber of Progress CEO on C-SPAN's "Communicators": What is the Chamber of Progress?". C-SPAN. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  32. ^ "Judge Dismisses FTC Complaint Against Facebook". Bloomberg Television. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
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