Jon Leibowitz

Jon Leibowitz was sworn in as a Commissioner on September 3, 2004, and designated to serve as Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission on March 2, 2009, by President Barack H. Obama. He was confirmed for a second term by the U.S. Senate on March 29, 2012.

During his tenure as Chairman, Leibowitz focused on stopping scams that prey upon consumers suffering from the economic downturn; preserving competition in healthcare and blocking anticompetitive “pay-for-delay” patent settlements in the pharmaceutical industry; promoting competition and innovation in the technology sector through law enforcement and policy initiatives; and protecting consumers’ privacy—especially while they are using the Internet.

In joining the Commission, Leibowitz resumed a long career of public service. He was the Democratic Chief Counsel and Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Antitrust Subcommittee from 1997 to 2000, where he focused on competition policy and telecommunications matters. He served as Chief Counsel and Staff Director for the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism and Technology from 1995 to 1996 and the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice from 1991 to 1994. In addition, he served as Chief Counsel to Senator Herb Kohl from 1989 to 2000. Leibowitz worked for Senator Paul Simon from 1986 to 1987. In the private sector, Leibowitz served most recently as Vice President for Congressional Affairs for the Motion Picture Association of America – from 2000 to 2004 – and worked as an attorney in private practice in Washington from 1984 to 1986.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a B.A. in American History (1980), Leibowitz graduated from the New York University School of Law in 1984. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

He lives in Bethesda with his wife, Ruth Marcus, and his two daughters.