Larry Pressler.

• Author: Harrison, Joan
• Position: Joins the boards of APA Optics Inc. and American Technologies Group Inc.

The U.S. Senate's former reigning authority on telecommunications legislation is transferring his expertise to telecom directorships.

WHEN LARRY PRESSLER talked with BlueStone Capital Chairman Kamal Mustafa about joining the firm's board of advisers, the former Senator told him plainly, "I'm a politician. I know nothing about your business." Mustafa recalls being impressed with Pressler's honest, down-to-earth manner and eagerness to learn the firm's investment and merchant banking business but thinks that Pressler sold himself short. "For someone who said he knew nothing about this business, he surprised me, and has made real contributions," says Mustafa.

One might expect that the three-term U.S. senator, former Rhodes Scholar, Harvard Law School graduate, and decorated Vietnam veteran would have an air of importance about him. Yet, when talking with Pressler, one of the first things that strikes you is his unassuming, low-key demeanor and self-deprecating sense of humor. For instance, he downplayed his selection as a Rhodes Scholar, saying, "At the time I was selected, they only allowed men. I doubt I could compete against all the female applicants they have now!"

A onetime chairman of the Senate Telecommunications Subcommittee and principal author of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pressler is a recognized authority in the telecom field. He is a valued director on the boards of Global Light Telecommunications and Plus Communications International, and undoubtedly will be an asset to the two boards he recently joined -- APA Optics Inc., a provider of fiber-optic and optoelectronic components, and American Technologies Group Inc., which develops advanced technology products.

Jeff McDermott, president and CEO of Plus Communications, thinks that Pressler is an excellent director. "Our company is a start-up business that was formed in late 1997 -- the kind of startup company that the Telecom Act paved the way for," he explains. "Larry is always available either in person or over the phone -- no matter where he is in the world" Adds Alexander Calhoun, senior partner at the law firm of Graham & James in San Francisco and a fellow director of Global Light Technologies, "Larry is of inestimable value to the board because of his knowledge of telecommunication issues and his ability to explain the regulatory aspects of the industry to the board."

After leaving the Senate in 1997, Pressler joined the Washington, D.C., law firm of O'Connor &amp...