The Obama administration has nominated Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) VP Catherine Ann Novelli for a job at the State Department. That’s according to a press release issued by the White House, which was spotted by All Things D.
Novelli’s time at Apple
Currently Novelli is Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s Vice President of Worldwide Government Affairs. In other words, she’s the company’s head lobbyist. She has held that position since 2007. Under the George W. Bush administration, Novelli was one of the nation’s top trade officials, serving as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Mediterranean.
Before going to Apple, she was a partner at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, a law firm.
Apple’s tight with the U.S. government
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been in the good graces of the Obama administration for quite some time, so the nomination of Novelli makes a lot of sense. She already essentially works with U.S. officials in her position as a lobbyist, and she works out of Washington, D.C.
Management at Apple has had Obama officials’ ears several times over the past year or so. In addition, Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer talked to the U.S. Senate about tax laws this year. Cook even spoke with President Obama in closed-door meetings about issues surrounding the PRISM data mining program, which has pulled in cooperation from the biggest tech companies in the U.S., including Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), and ignited the ire of U.S. citizens.
Apple even hired a U.S. government official to fill one of its key positions. It hired Lisa Jackson, who had been with the Environmental Protection Agency, to head up its environmental affairs. CEO Tim Cook even got to sit with First Lady Michelle Obama at the State of the Union address earlier this year. President Obama also praised Apple in his State of the Union address for creating jobs in the U.S.
