Current Interests - Pierre de Vries researches and advises clients on the intersection of information technology and government policy. His current projects include regulatory paradigms for the internet/web, alternative conceptual models for wireless policy, spectrum allocation in the TV white spaces, and the impact of intangibility on decision-making in the digital world.
Work - De Vries is a Research Fellow at the Economic Policy Research Center of the University of Washington, and a Senior Adjunct Fellow of the Silicon Flatirons Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is also a technology advisor to the Washington DC law firm of Harris Wiltshire & Grannis.
He is a former Chief of Incubation and Senior Director of Advanced Technology and Policy at Microsoft Corporation.
Prior to his twelve years at Microsoft, De Vries worked for Korda & Co, a London-based seed capital company and consultancy, advising corporate customers like Pearson and Scientific Atlanta on the likely evolution and business impact of new. He evaluated potential venture capital investments, negotiated investments and relationships, and served as a start-up board member.
Education - De Vries earned a B.Sc. (Honours) (cum laude) in theoretical physics in 1983 from Stellenbosch University, and a PhD in theoretical physics from Oxford in 1987.