SAN FRANCISCO - The Information Technology Industry Council today named technology and media industry veteran Dean Garfield as President and CEO. Garfield, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Officer of the Motion Picture Association of America, will succeed Rhett Dawson, who is retiring in December after 15 years as president of ITI.

Garfield, 40, was selected after an exhaustive national search led by current ITI Board Chair Laura Ipsen, Senior Vice President at Cisco. "Dean is the ideal candidate to lead ITI," said Ipsen. "He has the best possible mix of talents and expertise. We're entering an era when the merging of information technology, media and content create enormous opportunities and new policy challenges. Dean has the background and the vision to take this industry to the next level."

In his job at MPAA and in prior work, Garfield developed an extensive technology and media background. Currently, his responsibilities include developing a global strategy for the film industry.

"I've been fortunate to tackle technology policy issues from a variety of angles," said Garfield. "In my new role at ITI, I have the opportunity to use that experience to help policy makers solve our pressing global challenges, such as energy, competitiveness and trade. I look forward to working with ITI's premier companies, their outstanding staff and other industry groups."

Garfield brings a variety of national policy experience from his tenure at MPAA and from his position as the Vice President of Legal Affairs at the Recording Industry Association of America. In addition, Garfield worked for the law firm Kaye Scholer in Washington, D.C. and has represented both traditional and emerging digital media and high-tech companies.

Garfield graduated from Middlebury College and received a law degree and a masters degree respectively from New York University School of Law and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Administration and International Affairs at Princeton. He and his wife have two daughters.

Dawson, who is retiring as the CEO of ITI, will assume the role of executive vice chair to ensure a smooth transition. Russell Reynolds Associates led the original search that brought Dawson to ITI 15 years ago and conducted the search that led to Garfield's appointment.