Covington Boosts European Public Affairs Practice with Erika Mann
February 8, 2016
BRUSSELS — Erika Mann, a former Member of the European Parliament and policymaker with over 20 years of experience, has joined Covington in its Brussels office as a senior European policy advisor in the firm’s global Public Policy and Government Affairs practice. Most recently, Ms. Mann served as Managing Director of Public Policy for Facebook in Brussels from 2011 until the end of 2015.
The largest public policy and government affairs group of any law firm in the EU, Covington’s European Public Policy and Government Affairs group includes a range of former policymakers:
- Ambassador Jean De Ruyt, one of the most experienced diplomats in Europe, who was most recently the Permanent Representative of Belgium to the European Union;
- Ambassador Karel Kovanda, the former Deputy Director General of External Relations (now the European External Action Service) at the European Commission;
- Paul Adamson, a pioneer and leader in European public affairs;
- Stuart E. Eizenstat, former U.S. Ambassador to the EU who is based in Washington.
Ms. Mann was a German Member of the European Parliament between 1994 and 2009. As a MEP, she concentrated on trade policy, transatlantic relations, financial services, pharmaceuticals, digital economy, telecommunications, and Internet-related legislation and research policy. She is a board member of ICANN and was the Executive Vice President of the Computer & Communications Industry Association between December 2009 and October 2011. In that role, she built and led the Association’s Brussels office. Over her long career in public policy, Ms. Mann held positions of non-resident senior fellow of the Atlantic Council and a trustee of Friends of Europe. She was the chairperson of the evaluation board for the Risk-Sharing-Finance Facility, a financing instrument governed by the EU and the European Investment Bank.
Sebastian Vos, partner and head of Covington’s EU public affairs practice, commented: “We are thrilled to welcome Erika to the team. Our clients in Europe, Asia, the United States, and around the world will benefit from her insight into the EU policymaking process and her experience in dealing with a vast array of issues, from technology and telecommunications to international trade and financial services.”
Ms. Mann added: “I look forward to becoming part of Covington’s vibrant team. Over the course of my career, I have come across many firms and have utmost respect for Covington’s lawyers and advisors, their high abilities, and the partners’ vision for the practice in Europe and globally.”
Ms. Mann is a lecturer and author of numerous publications on trade, transatlantic relations and digital economy related topics. She has received numerous awards, including the European-American Business Council for “Exceptional Transatlantic Commitment” and the Bundesverdienstkeuz am Bande, the German Federal Cross of Merit.
Ms. Mann received her degree in Social Science from the University of Hannover.
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