GARY SHAPIRO
President & CEO, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)
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For all who know him, Gary Shapiro can best be described as a man of passion.

For almost 25 years, he has been passionate about the consumer electronics industry. As leader of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the primary organization representing the consumer electronics industry in the U.S., he has tirelessly advocated for DVD, digital satellite, high-definition television (HDTV), digital radio and other technologies. In his position as president and CEO, Gary has led the association to tremendous growth, helping increase membership from 350 five years ago to more than 2,000 today. CEA also owns and produces the International CES, which has become the world's largest tradeshow for consumer technology and America's largest annual tradeshow of any kind.

Gary is passionate about HDTV. He is widely recognized as a pioneer, cheerleader and active leader in the development, launch and marketing of HDTV. Gary co-founded and chaired the HDTV Model Station and is a charter inductee to the Academy of Digital Television Pioneers. In 2003, he received the Academy’s highest award as the industry leader most influential in advancing HDTV.

Gary is passionate about preserving home recording rights. Throughout his career, he has led the continuing battle to preserve the legality of recording equipment as well as protect consumers’ right to rent videos and record audio and video content. As chairman of the Home Recording Rights Coalition, Gary testifies often before Congress and has appeared on national news programs.

He is passionate about the exhibition industry. He has held many exhibition industry leadership posts and in 2002, he received the industry’s highest honor, the Pinnacle Award.

And Gary is passionate about CEA, where he leads a staff of more than 130 dedicated employees and thousands of industry volunteers. Under his leadership, CEA has won numerous awards; including several for its magazine, Vision, and the 2002 CARE award, as the most family friendly employer in its category. In November 2003 the Washingtonian magazine named CEA as one the “50 Great Places To Work” in the competitive Washington, D.C. market.

Gary often jokes that he is a “reformed attorney”— Prior to joining the association, he was an associate at the law firm of Squire, Sanders and Dempsey. 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.

This Fall, Gary added a new passion to his life when he married Dr. Susan Malinowski. Gary met Susan on a ski lift when he overheard her talking about – what else? – HDTV.