Mark D Cowan

As a partner at Patton Boggs, Mark Cowan draws on more than 35 years of experience working on complex domestic and international public policy issues to counsel a broad range of clients. He advises corporations, government entities, and foreign sovereigns on a wide array of business, regulatory, and trade issues. Mr. Cowan coordinates and oversees client growth and development for the firm. Cowan joined Patton Boggs after a long and successful career in the Washington public affairs and government relations industry. He served as president of Columbus Public Affairs and as chief executive officer of Newmyer Associates, a public affairs and strategic intelligence firm. He was vice chairman of Cassidy & Associates, and a founder and chief executive officer of The Jefferson Group. Earlier, Mr. Cowan served at Gray & Company and Hill & Knowlton Public Relations, counseling numerous domestic and international clients. Before entering the private sector, Mr. Cowan held presidential appointments in three administrations. During the first Reagan administration, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health until his appointment as Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Secretary of Labor in 1982. Later, President George H.W. Bush appointed him as a Commissioner on the National Commission on Employment Policy. More recently, President George W. Bush appointed him as a Member of the President’s Council on the 21st Century Work Force. In addition to his presidential appointments, Mr. Cowan has held several other government posts. He was Counsel to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (ethics) of the U.S. House of Representatives. He also served at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as an operations officer, serving abroad and as a country desk chief in the agency’s Directorate of Operations, and later held the position of Assistant Legislative Counsel to the Director of Central Intelligence. In the U.S. Air Force, Captain Cowan flew in the back seat of the F-101 fighter interceptor.