Former Senate Banking Committee Staff Director Joins APCO
Steve Harris brings financial, corporate governance, crisis management expertise
Washington, D.C. (March 5, 2007) – Steve Harris, a central figure in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee for more than 20 years, this week joined APCO Worldwide as senior vice president and special counsel, Robert Schooling, Washington, D.C., managing director, announced today.
Harris will provide APCO clients with counsel in the areas of corporate governance, crisis management, financial transactions, export and trade promotion, government oversight and investigations, and housing and urban affairs. Harris will also work closely with other APCO financial communication experts based in New York, London and Hong Kong, strengthening the firm’s rapidly expanding financial communication expertise around the world.
During his tenure at the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Harris served as majority and Democratic staff director and chief counsel to the full committee, as well as staff director and chief counsel to the securities subcommittee. He worked with Sen. Paul Sarbanes during consideration and passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and is widely credited as a primary engineer of the sweeping reform legislation that dramatically changed the U.S. securities, accounting and corporate governance landscape.
“Steve brings a tremendous set of experiences, credentials and contacts to APCO’s clients in Washington and around the world,” said Schooling.
“It was a pleasure to work with Steve when I was chairman of the banking committee,” said former Sen. Don Riegle (D-MI), APCO executive vice president. “He is intimately familiar with all the financial services laws of the past two decades. His reputation as a problem solver and strategic counselor transcends party lines. He is a valuable asset to any team.”
“In considering alternatives after leaving the Hill, I wanted to join a world-class operation which has both a significant domestic and international presence,” said Harris. “I am eager to be directly involved in using my Washington experience to benefit APCO’s clients.”
During more than two decades working in Congress, Harris was deeply involved in all aspects of the committee’s legislative process where he dealt extensively with all sectors of the financial services industry. The committee’s jurisdiction also included consumer protection; economic stabilization and defense production; export controls and foreign trade promotion; federal monetary policy, including the Federal Reserve System; and federal subsidies to commerce and industry. Harris has experience in handling crises, including the Whitewater investigation, Enron and WorldCom.
Prior to his service on the committee, Harris served as counsel to the late former Cong. Barbara Jordan (D-TX) and was a representative to President Carter’s National Commission for the Review of Antitrust Laws and Procedures. A member of the D.C. Bar Association, Harris was an attorney with the Legal Services Corporation and the Office Economic Opportunity. He started his career working at Time, Inc. He is a member of the Executive Council of the Federal Bar Association Securities Law Committee, and on the Board of Directors of the Washington Campus.
Harris joins other Washington, D.C., veterans at APCO including former U.S. Rep. Don Bonker (D-WA); Jane Garvey, former administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration; former U.S. Rep. Richard N. Swett (D-NH); former Assistant Secretary of State Beth Jones; and B. Jay Cooper, former deputy White House press secretary and deputy assistant to the president under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
About APCO Worldwide
Founded in 1984, APCO Worldwide is an independently owned global communication consultancy with offices in major cities throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. APCO was named 2006 Agency of the Year by PR Week, 2006 and 2005 European Consultancy of the Year by Public Affairs News and 2004 Public Affairs Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report. Clients include corporations, governments, industry associations and nonprofit organizations. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., APCO includes among its clients seven of the top 10 companies on Fortune’s Global 500. Core services include corporate, investor and internal communication; crisis management; issue management; government relations; litigation communication; media relations; coalition building; opinion research; market entry; corporate responsibility and online communication. APCO is a majority women-owned business. For more information, please visit www.apcoworldwide.com.
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Contact:
Megan Carpenter
+202.651.1574
mcarpenter@apcoworldwide.com