Robert E. Branson

Robert E. Branson, Esq., is President and CEO of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC), a non-partisan, national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving equal opportunity and civil rights in the mass media, telecom and broadband industries, and closing the digital divide.

Prior to joining MMTC, Mr. Branson served as Of Counsel at Empire Consulting Group a strategic business and public policy firm serving leading technology, wireless, broadcast and other industry clients. He brings his unique perspective as someone who has worked inside and outside government and who understands the challenges ahead in the diverse world we are creating in corporate America.

In his corporate career, most recently, he was an Associate General Counsel with Verizon Communications. In that position, he had various responsibilities, including the 5G rollout in the Washington, DC area, privacy regulations, and relationship building with leaders in the federal and state governments. He also coordinated with trade associations and internally with other legal, public policy and business groups.

He has been the General Counsel of the Association of Local Television Stations, Chief Legal Counsel of Post-Newsweek Stations and an Assistant General Counsel at the National Association of Broadcasters. He also has worked at the Federal Communications Commission as a Senior Legal Advisor to a Commissioner.

Mr. Branson has served as President of the Federal Communications Bar Association where he has become acquainted with many of the leaders at the FCC, NTIA, FTC and other federal agencies. He is a two-time recipient of the FCBA Distinguished Service Award.  He has championed diversity and inclusion in the Bar and has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from MMTC.

He has served on the Board of Trustees at Simmons University in Boston and was named an Honorary Trustee after his service.  He was a member of the Boards of the Ridley Scholarship Fund at the University of Virginia and the Hayride to Help Others in Washington, DC.

Mr. Branson received his law degree from Harvard University and his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia.