Gary Shapiro is president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, the U.S. trade association representing more than 2,000 consumer electronics companies and owning and producing the continent’s largest annual tradeshow, the International CES®.

Shapiro led the industry in its successful transition to HDTV. He co-founded and chaired the HDTV Model Station and served as a leader of the Advanced Television Test Center (ATTC). He is a charter inductee to the Academy of Digital Television Pioneers, and received its highest award as the industry leader most influential in advancing HDTV. He focused on the need for and led the effort to obtain the 2009 cut-off date of analog broadcasting.

As chairman of the Home Recording Rights Coalition (HRRC), Shapiro led the manufacturers’ battle to preserve the legality of recording technology and consumer fair use rights. Shapiro has held many exhibition industry leadership posts, and received the exhibition industry’s highest honor, the Pinnacle Award. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, the State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy, and the Board of Directors of the Washington Economic Club. He has served as a member of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Commission on Information Technology and on the Board of Visitors of George Mason University. Shapiro also has 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 140 employees and thousands of industry volunteers and has testified before Congress on technology and business issues more than 20 times. He has received annual recognition from The Hill since 2006 as a “top lobbyist” in Washington. Also, Washington Life magazine has named him one of the 100 most influential people in Washington, D.C. CEA has won many awards as a family friendly employer and one of the best places in Virginia to work.

Shapiro authored the 2011 bestselling book The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream (Beaufort).

Prior to joining the association, Shapiro was an associate at the law firm of Squire Sanders. 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 Binghamton University. He is married to Dr. Susan Malinowski, a retina surgeon.

The following vendors were showcased on our World Liberty TV Technology Channel:

• Fashion Ware Tech Runway Presentation.
• Joyce Su for Intel, reviewing Intel based Tablets.
• Shaun O’ Connor for Microsoft, doing a review for the New XBOX 360.
• Rick Harwick of Motorola, doing a review for Motorola Atrix Smartphone.
• Anna Lingeris for Hershey’s Company, promoting The New Mini Reese’s.
• Afsha of SwitchEasy, doing reviews for Apple iPad & iPhone accessories.
• Joe Daileda for MEE Electronics, doing a review for HT21 New Headphones.
• Brad Alexander of Gecko Co. doing reviews for iPhone & iPad accessories from Australia.
• Tomonori Shibahara of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
• Andre from Vutec Corp reviewing a new 3D TV.