The Federal Trade Commission has appointed Ashkan Soltani as the agency’s Chief Technologist, succeeding Dr. Latanya Sweeney, who is returning to Harvard University, where she founded and directs Harvard’s Data Privacy Lab.

Mr. Soltani will join the FTC in November and advise the commission on evolving technology and policy issues. He had previously served as a technical expert for the commission, and worked at the FTC between 2010 and 2011 as a staff technologist. Mr. Soltani has also worked as a technical expert for multiple state attorneys general, as well as worked as an investigative reporter for The Washington Post, sharing with his co-authors in a 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, and The Wall Street Journal, and as a researcher for The New York Times. Earlier in his career, Mr. Soltani was employed as a manager and consultant for two security technology companies including Sophos.

Mr. Soltani earned a master’s degree in Information Management and Systems from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego.

[Image courtesy: FTC]