The Clinton administration official who says he "wired the connection" between Silicon Valley and the White House is leaving Washington for a high-level position with the San Francisco investment firm of Robertson Stephens. Tim Newell, 37, the senior adviser for technology to the White House chief of staff, will join the firm next month as a vice president working with Internet and electronic commerce companies.
The firm's CEO is financial wizard Sandy Robertson, one of the administration's most prominent high-tech industry supporters and one who has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Democratic Party.
"He's joining us because he's very capable, and has a very worldly view," said Robertson, who denied that Newell was hired because of his political connections. "He hasn't had a lot of investment banking experience, but he does have a lot of connections with high-tech people."
Newell, who previously worked for the White House Office of Science and Technology, was a key behind-the-scenes figure helping Silicon Valley connect with Washington. He was responsible for launching the "Gore-Tech" summits - intimate monthly round tables in which Silicon Valley leaders advise the vice president on issues ranging from education to the "new economy." Newell is widely credited with winning unprecedented access to the White House for Robertson, venture capitalists John Doerr and Brook Byers of Kleiner Perkins, and a host of high-tech CEOs including Kim Polese of Marimba, Scott Cook of Intuit, Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems, and Chuck Geschke of Adobe.
As an advocate for Silicon Valley, Newell said Monday, he saw the attitude of Washington politicians change over the 12 years he worked inside the Beltway.
"In the last year," Newell said, "technology issues have moved to the front burner - both in terms of policy and of politics."
By all accounts, Newell's influence worked two ways, getting White House insiders to take Silicon Valley seriously
One White House official recalled Monday that even a few years ago, many in the administration viewed high-tech issues as "fringe" concerns. Today, the official said, "there's a big competition to see who's going to be in charge" of the relationship with high-tech business.
Newell's departure has prompted the administration to coordinate its Silicon Valley outreach at a higher level, directly through Deputy Chief of Staff John Podesta. The reshuffling signals the increased political influence of high-tech and the institutionalization of the relationship between the White House and the industry.
"Clearly, this White House gets it," the administration official said. "They're going to give it their highest attention."
Newell, meanwhile, said he was looking forward to a simpler life in San Francisco.
"It's a great company," he said of Robertson Stephens, "and they hired me to do business, not politics. It's purely business that brings me here."
