Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan Appoints New Chief Technology Officer and Public Affairs Director

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan announced the appointment of two new senior agency leaders: Chief Technology Officer Stephanie Nguyen and Public Affairs Director Douglas Farrar.

“I’m excited to welcome Stephanie and Doug to the FTC’s senior leadership team,” Chair Khan said. “Their knowledge and experience will strengthen the FTC in two key areas, ensuring that we keep pace with the latest developments in technology and that we’re communicating clearly with the public about the critical work of the agency.”

Nguyen has been named Chief Technology Officer, after having served in the role in an acting capacity since October 2021. She brings over a decade of leadership building and designing technical products and services across government, academia, civil society, and the private sector, specializing in human-computer interaction design and user experience research. Prior to her tenure at the FTC, Nguyen worked at the U.S. Digital Service at the White House and as a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nguyen holds an MPP from Harvard Kennedy School, where she studied as a Gleitsman Scholar, and earned her B.A. in Digital Media Theory & Design from the University of Virginia.

Farrar comes to the FTC from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he was vice president of communications and strategy. Previously, Farrar was assistant director of communications at the Aspen Institute and a communications and legislative aide in the U.S. House of Representatives, including for a senior member of the House Committee on Appropriations. Farrar holds an M.A. in Social and Public Policy from Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies and a B.S. in International Politics from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.