Ted Ullyot served as Facebook GC from 2008-2013.
Venture Capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz has recruited Ted Ullyot, a former Facebook Inc. general counsel, to construct a new policy and regulatory affairs group for the firm.
Ullyot worked at Facebook from 2008 to 2013, before which he was with Kirkland & Ellis LLP, served as chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Justice and served as deputy assistant to President George W. Bush. Founding partner Marc Andreesen is a Facebook board member who had worked closely with Ullyot.
Since its founding in 2009 Andreessen Horowitz has made investments in fast-growing technology companies, including Facebook, Lyft Inc., Box Inc., BuzzFeed Inc., Airware and many others.
As reported by the Global Legal Post, “the formation of the firm’s policy and regulatory affairs group comes as startups like ride-sharing mobile-app Lyft and drone company Airware are facing off against established, well-financed and heavily regulated industries.”
“It’s not a lobbying position,” Ullyot said. “The idea is to make sure the lines of communication are open,” whether dealing with lawmakers in Sacramento, Brussels or Washington, he said.
During Ullyot’s tenure at the social-networking site, Facebook successfully defended a lawsuit from Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and settled a patent fight with Yahoo! Inc.
“There are so many areas where having a productive relationship with lawmakers becomes valuable for our portfolio companies,” said Margit Wennmachers, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
