Jonathan Marc Orszag is an American economist and former government official. He is a Founding Partner of Econic Partners LLC, an economic consulting firm. He previously was a co-founder of
/ref> Orszag sold Compass (or Competition Policy Associates) to FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN) in 2006. His work has been recognized in The International Who's Who of Competition Economists and Global Competition Review.
Early life and education
Orszag is the son of Reba Karp, owner of a research and development company,
[ New York Times: "Bianna Golodryga, Peter R. Orszag" September 24, 2010] and Steven Orszag, a prominent mathematician and professor at
Yale University.
[ Yale Bulletin: "In memoriam: Steven Alan Orszag" May 11, 2011] He has two brothers, Michael Orszag and
Peter Orszag, the former Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Orszag's paternal great-grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Hungary who immigrated to New York City in 1903.
[ U.S. News & World Report: "10 Things You Didn’t Know About Peter Orszag" By Carol S. Hook November 25, 2008]
Orszag graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1991 and received his bachelor's degree in economics from Princeton University in 1996. In 1997, Orszag graduated from the University of Oxford with an M.Sc. in economic and social history.
Career
Government service and political activity
In 1994, Orszag was appointed to serve as the Special Assistant to the Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor. He next moved to the
White House in 1995 to serve as an Economic Policy Advisor on President
Bill Clinton's National Economic Council. In 1999, the
Prosperity Now gave Orszag its leadership award for "forging innovative public policies to expand economic opportunity in America." From 1995 to 1996, Orszag was an economic consultant to
James Carville while he wrote the book
We're Right, They're Wrong: A Handbook for Spirited Progressives.
Orszag served as the Assistant to the Secretary of Commerce and Director of the Office of Policy and Strategic Planning from 1999 to 2000. During the 2000 presidential election, Orszag worked on the Gore-Lieberman campaign as director of policy preparations for the vice presidential debate.
Private sector
When Orszag left government, he founded Sebago Associates, the predecessor firm to Compass Lexecon, with his brother Peter Orszag. Orszag is currently a Senior Consultant at Compass Lexecon.
Orszag currently serves on the Academic and Regulatory Advisory Council for Coinbase One River Asset Management.
Orszag works on Competition law matters, including giving testimony before the European Court of First Instance in its 2007 case, Microsoft Corp v. Commission. Orszag has also worked on a number of large mergers, including Aetna/Humana, General Electric/Electrolux, Agrium/PotashCorp, Orbitz/Expedia Group, OfficeMax/Office Depot, Staples/Office Depot, Omnicom Group/Publicis, Entercom/CBS Radio, AT&T/T-Mobile US, Delta/Northwest, the Microsoft/Yahoo! search deal, Siemens/Dresser-Rand, and Global Crossing/Level 3.
Personal life
Orszag is married to entertainment journalist Mary Kitchen. The couple has three children.
[ Atlantic Business Magazine: "Top 5 with Entertainment Journalist, Mary Kitchen" by Karen Moores October 23, 2014] Orszag serves on boards of the Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and the Tiger Woods Foundation.
Orszag serves as a Trustee of The First Tee
and was formerly a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.
He is also a member of the Good+ Foundation's Fatherhood Leadership Council.
