Gary Shapiro is president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the U.S. trade association representing some 2,000 consumer electronics companies and owning and producing the world's largest tradeshow for consumer technology, the International CES. Shapiro is an active leader in the development, launch and marketing of HDTV. He has testified before Congress on HDTV and other technology and business issues more than 20 times. He co-founded and chaired the HDTV Model Station and has served as a leader of the Advanced Television Test Center (ATTC). He is a charter inductee to the Academy of Digital Television Pioneers, and in 2003 received its highest award as the industry leader most influential in advancing HDTV. As chairman of the Home Recording Rights Coalition (HRRC), Shapiro has led the manufacturers' legal and legislative battle to preserve the legality of recording technology and the consumer battle to protect fair use rights. Shapiro has held many exhibition industry leadership posts, and in 2002, received the exhibition industry’s highest honor, the IAEM Pinnacle Award. Shapiro also serves on the Board of Visitors of George Mason University, Virginia’s largest university, and is a member of the board of directors of the Northern Virginia Technology Council. He also served as a member of the Commonwealth of Virginia's Commission on Information Technology. Shapiro has also been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a "mastermind" for his initiative in helping to create the Industry Cooperative for Ozone Layer Protection (ICOLP). Shapiro leads a staff of more than 130 employees and thousands of industry volunteers. CEA has won many awards; including several for its magazine, Vision, and awards as a family friendly employer and one of the 50 Great Places to Work in Washington. Prior to joining the association, Shapiro was an associate at the law firm of Squire, Sanders and Dempsey. He also has worked on Capitol Hill, as an assistant to a member of Congress. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate with a double major in economics and psychology from the State University of New York, Binghamton. He is married to Dr. Susan Malinowski, a retina surgeon.
