Ed Tobin

At Microsoft, Tobin will oversee the company's federal, state and local government relations activities, as well as the Microsoft political action committee, the company's extensive participation in industry groups and trade associations, and the company's extensive community affairs and employee volunteerism programs. The position was previously held by Kimberly Ellwanger, who left Microsoft late last year to spend more time with her husband and 8-year-old daughter. Tobin, 35, was hired by US WEST in 1997 to revamp its government affairs programs and help the company prepare for the increasingly competitive structure of the telecommunications industry. He is responsible for developing and coordinating the company's legislative, political and regulatory activities, working with its offices in Washington, D.C., and fourteen Western and Midwestern states. He directs the US WEST political action committee, helps administer the company's community affairs programs, and oversees the company's 60,000-member volunteer community service organization. Previously, Tobin served four years as a top aide to Massachusetts Gov. William Weld and was responsible for developing and implementing political and legislative strategies, acting as principal adviser on federal and state issues, handling senior appointments and personnel decisions throughout the administration, and serving as the governor's representative to the National Governors' Association and other groups. Tobin is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Duke University and received his juris doctor with honors from Harvard Law School. After clerking for Federal District Court Judge Mark Wolf, he practiced law in the litigation group of Hale and Dorr in Boston.