Leonard Kennedy, a former general counsel and chief government affairs officer at Sprint Nextel, has joined Neustar as senior vice president and general counsel.
The appointment takes effect May 13 and he will oversee Neustar’s legal and external affairs efforts such as public policy and government relations, Neustar said Thursday.
He succeeds Scott Blake Harris, who is returning to private practice after two years in the position.
“Scott transformed our legal, policy and corporate social responsibility efforts during the past two years, ” said Lisa Hook, Neustar president and CEO.
Kennedy most recently served as senior adviser to the director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and has also held the associate director and general counsel posts at the agency.
Before joining the agency, he served as SVP and general counsel at Nextel and held legal and regulatory responsibilities regarding the company’s merger with Sprint.
The 30-year legal and regulatory veteran then served as general counsel, corporate strategy and chief government affairs officer of the combined Sprint Nextel.
Hook said Kennedy brings legal experience and knowledge of public policy, the telecommunications and technology industries to his new position at Neustar.
Prior to Nextel, he was a partner at law firm Dow, Lohnes & Albertson PLLC and he worked at the Federal Communications Commission from 1980 to 1991.
