Head of software lobby to step down

{mosads}Holleyman led BSA for 23 years, guiding it from a 3-person office in 1990 to one of the major technology lobbying groups in Washington. BSA, which represents companies including Apple, Microsoft, Adobe and Oracle, spent $1.6 million on lobbying last year, according to disclosure forms. 

The group has lobbied on privacy, cybersecurity, high-skill immigration, taxes, anti-piracy enforcement and other issues. 

“It has been a privilege to build BSA into a global voice for the challenges faced by the software industry and to work with some of the world’s most innovative companies,” Holleyman said in a statement. “I’m enormously proud of the role BSA and its talented team has had in helping to open new markets and in serving on the cutting-edge of evolving policy issues that promote innovation.”

Di Fronzo issued a statement thanking Holleyman for his work.

“Robert led the BSA from its origins as a small organization to its current unique position of global breadth and influence,” Di Fronzo said. “As I look to the future, I am confident that with the ongoing commitment of BSA’s growing membership and its talented staff, the BSA will continue to grow its reputation and impact as the leading voice and advocacy group for our industry.”

Holleyman led a restructuring of BSA last year to focus on anti-piracy and lobbying. The group also formally changed its name from the “Business Software Alliance” to “BSA-the Software Alliance.”

Before joining the group, Holleyman served as a Senate aide, an attorney in private practice and a clerk in U.S. District Court.