(Another) Venture Capitalist Joins the FCC

Nick Sinai is the latest venture capitalist headed to Washington, where he will serve as Energy and Environmental Director at the Federal Communications Commission.

In an email to friends and colleagues, Sinai wrote:

President Obama and the Congress have asked the FCC, led by Chairman Julius Genachowski, to form a National Broadband Task Force to deliver a plan to Congress in February 2010. I’ll be leading a team that will examine how broadband/communications infrastructure and policies can support our national energy and environmental goals, with an emphasis on the Smart Grid.

Sinai most recently was with Tenaya Capital, which he joined as a principal in January 2008. For those not familiar with Tenaya, it’s a new firm previously known as Lehman Brothers Venture Partners (Sinai was on his honeymoon the weekend Lehman collapsed). 

Before that, he spent more than three years as a senior associate with Polaris Venture Partners, and was a board observer for LogMeIn, SiOnyx, Mintera and Infinite Power Solutions. He also served as interim VP of corporate development for Polaris portfolio company GreenFuel Technologies. 

Worth noting that FCC chair Genachowski is also a former venture capitalist, although it’s unclear if that connection is what helped get Sinai the job (he declined to comment).

You can read more about the FCC’s broadband task force here, and the energy/environment effort here.