Our People

Robert Cresanti is the immediate past Executive Managing Director of Accenture LLC’s Global
Government Affairs Team, President & CEO of the International Franchise Association, and the founder
of Cresanti Associates, LLC, an international strategic business, technology, and public affairs advisory
firm.
Cresanti is a seasoned Washington, D.C.-based C-suite executive with deep experience in technology,
banking, standards, business, and intellectual property. Cresanti has gained a reputation for strong
fiscal management, building successful teams, using technology to drive business results, and
consistently delivering on crucial public policy initiatives. His prosecution of public policy agendas, use
of legal strategy, coalition-building skills, and media engagement have merited multiple recognitions of
excellence and publication in key DC and national news publications.
Cresanti has many years of distinguished public service experience and was unanimously confirmed by
the U.S. Senate as Undersecretary of Commerce for Technology, the third-ranking position at the
Department of Commerce, and subsequently appointed as the most senior Chief Privacy Officer in the
Federal Government. Cresanti has directly advised three U.S. Presidents on issues ranging from
technology policy and security to economic recovery initiatives and competitiveness issues. He chaired
multiple bilateral technology trade missions in the European Union, Asia, and Russia and was co-chair of
the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. In his earlier decade-long service on
Capitol Hill, ranging from Legislative Counsel in the House to Committee Chief of Staff in the Senate,
Cresanti handled banking and technology legislation before the Banking, Judiciary, Commerce,
Homeland Security, and Finance Committees.
In his private sector career, Cresanti led communications and Public Affairs for a Global Fortune 50
company and two key technology trade associations. Cresanti was also the CEO of the IPXI, the
Intellectual Property Exchange, and served as the Managing Director of an NYSE-traded ETF.
Cresanti serves on several private company Boards and has been published in books on various topics,
from compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Anti-fraud Act to the valuation of intangible assets. He
received a law degree from Baylor University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Austin College.
He also holds a certificate in EC Law from the University of Glasgow Law School and has completed
master’s level coursework at Johns Hopkins SAIS. Cresanti grew up in Germany and is fluent in both
English and German.