Michael Gallagher, the former chief telecommunications and policy adviser to the Bush administration was named as the new leader of the Electronic Software Association.
The Entertainment Software Association, the U.S. video game industry
s trade association, announced Thursday its new president will be a former official in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush.
Michael Gallagher was the chief telecommunications and policy adviser to the Bush administration in his former role as assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information. He will take over presidential duties at the association later in May.
The group has often found itself at the forefront of freedom of speech debates, especially when video game detractors — both within the government and private citizens — criticize the content of the industrys offerings or blame games for incidents of youth violence.
Gallagher replaces the associations first president, Douglas Lowenstein, who led the ESA from 1994, when it was called the Interactive Digital Software Association.
Lowenstein left in February to become the administrator of a Washington, D.C., lobby group, the Private Equity Council, which represents the private equity sector.
"Mikes outstanding technology, policy, and government relations experience makes him a strong fit for the ESA, where issues like intellectual property, self-regulation, and industry, social and economic contributions are at the forefront of the agenda," Robbie Bach, the chair of the ESA board of directors and president of Microsoft Corp.s entertainment and devices division, said in a written statement e-mailed to CBC News Online.
