Townsend Feehan

Townsend Feehan has over two decades of experience in policy planning and public affairs campaigning. Townsend is currently the Director Ex Oficio at IAB. Prior to their current role, Townsend served as the Senior Manager of Policy Planning at Microsoft Legal & Corporate Affairs from October 2002 to October 2013. In this role, they were responsible for policy planning, public affairs campaigning, and enlisting academic institutions and think-tanks to change the terms of debate on EU policy issues critical for Microsoft's business in the EMEA region.

From October 2001 to October 2002, Townsend served as the Deputy Director-General at EICTA (now Digital Europe). In this role, they were responsible for the organization's internal and external communications, as well as developing and executing lobbying campaigns on regulatory issues of importance to the ICT and consumer electronics industries.

Before their time at EICTA, Townsend was the Secretary-General of the European Association of Consumer Electronics Manufacturers (EACEM) from November 1999 to October 2001. In this role, they led the association of 20 major EU and international consumer electronics companies, developing and executing a major lobbying campaign on the EU Copyright Directive. The campaign was successful, with a favourable outcome for Member Companies. In addition to leading the campaign, Townsend also drove strategic planning, drafted position papers, acted as media spokesperson, and managed outside consultants & legal counsel.

Townsend Feehan has a M. Phil in EU law and politics from Edinburgh University, a B.A. in International Relations and Economics from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley Massachussetts, and a diploma from National Cathedral School.