Former Secretary General, Member of Parliament and UN staffer to Help Drive Multilateral Solutions for the Tech Sector.
Access Partnership, the leading global public policy firm for the tech sector, today announced that the outgoing Secretary General of Liberal International, the world federation of liberal political parties, will lead the company’s Multilateral Practice. In his new role Gordon Mackay, who was also previously a senior member of the South African parliament, will enable Access Partnership’s clients to drive outcomes in the United Nations and its technical organizations as well as in the WTO, OECD, ICANN, and the IGF.
“The technology sector is looking for harmonized solutions, not a series of rearguard reputational actions and regulatory bandages in each market, across each vertical,” Access Partnership’s Managing Director, Gregory Francis, said of the appointment. “This puts the onus on Access Partnership to control the multilateral space for them, and after a worldwide search of 16 months, we know Gordon is the right person to succeed in this.”
Mackay, who will be based in London, will enable clients to use multilateral institutions to achieve their policy goals, by driving policy, advocacy, and leveraging strategic networks. “Multilateral institutions are efficient: you can make big policy changes in one forum that affect dozens of markets at a go,” Mackay explained in accepting the position. “I’m thrilled to be joining the company that best understands how to capture this advantage for its clients on terms that are fair, and therefore terms that will endure,” Mackay said.
As a Member of Parliament of South Africa, Mackay served as Shadow Minister for Energy, and played a major role in driving policy development for the republic’s official opposition. He is also a former UN official, having worked for UNICEF’s Office of Emergency Programs, with a focus on peace building, recovery, and climate resilience in pre- and post-humanitarian conflict settings, where he developed a clear understanding of the role technology can play in building state institutions and strengthening civil society. Critical to this work was his ability to retain and mobilize a strong network within the United Nations.
About Access Partnership
Access Partnership is the world’s leading public policy firm ensuring market access for technology. We monitor and analyse global trends for the risks and opportunities they create for technology businesses and identify strategies to mitigate those risks and drive the opportunities to our clients’ advantage. Our team uniquely mixes policy and technical expertise to optimise outcomes for companies operating at the intersection of technology, data and connectivity.
To request an interview with Gordon Mackay or for more information on Access Partnership, please contact Ivan Ivanov, Senior Marketing and Communications Manager at Access Partnership.
