Ed Mortimer is a government affairs, infrastructure, technology, and public policy executive with more than three decades of experience working at the intersection of business, government, and industry. Throughout his career, he has helped organizations understand complex legislative and regulatory environments, anticipate changes in public policy, build productive relationships with decision-makers, and position themselves to pursue significant opportunities. His experience spans corporate leadership, national business advocacy, transportation and infrastructure policy, emerging technology, public affairs, and government relations at the federal, state, local, and international levels. Known for operating effectively in highly complex environments, Ed brings a perspective shaped by years of direct engagement with corporate executives, elected officials, government agencies, trade associations, industry coalitions, and other influential stakeholders.
Ed most recently served as Vice President of Government Affairs for NextNav, a publicly traded geolocation technology company focused on next-generation positioning, navigation, and timing capabilities. As a member of the company’s executive management team, he led government affairs initiatives while representing NextNav before federal, state, local, and international officials and industry organizations. His responsibilities extended well beyond traditional advocacy. Ed advised senior leadership on the strategic implications of government action, managed domestic and international public affairs consultants, oversaw government affairs resources, and worked with state governments on proof-of-concept technology initiatives. His work also included advancing awareness of resilient positioning, navigation, and timing technologies and the importance of complementary capabilities to traditional GPS infrastructure.
At NextNav, Ed brought together his experience in public policy and infrastructure with an understanding of emerging technology and national strategic priorities. He worked with congressional appropriators and government stakeholders on funding related to complementary positioning, navigation, and timing initiatives and helped communicate the relevance of advanced geolocation capabilities to public safety, infrastructure, national resilience, and commercial applications. His role required the ability to translate technically complex issues into language that policymakers, business leaders, and other stakeholders could understand and act upon. During this period, The Hill repeatedly recognized him among its top lobbyists, including recognition in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Before joining NextNav, Ed spent more than a decade across two periods of service with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, ultimately serving as Vice President of Transportation Infrastructure and Executive Director of Americans for Transportation Mobility. In these positions, he helped lead the development and implementation of transportation and infrastructure policy on behalf of the American business community. He represented the Chamber before Congress, presidential administrations, federal agencies, and industry organizations while helping coordinate diverse constituencies around major infrastructure priorities. His work placed him at the center of national discussions involving transportation investment, mobility, freight, logistics, infrastructure financing, and long-term federal policy.
A defining element of Ed’s career has been his ability to build coalitions among organizations that may approach an issue from very different perspectives. Through Americans for Transportation Mobility, he worked across business, labor, transportation, construction, and related stakeholder communities to promote investment in America’s transportation infrastructure. He contributed to advocacy surrounding major federal transportation initiatives and infrastructure legislation, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, while also participating in policy discussions associated with earlier transportation authorization measures. This work demanded more than knowledge of legislation; it required understanding how political institutions function, how competing priorities can be reconciled, and how an organization can build durable support for objectives over many years.
Ed’s corporate government affairs experience was further developed during nearly a decade with AECOM and its predecessor organizations, including URS and Washington Group. As Director of Government Affairs, he coordinated advocacy activities for the infrastructure market segment of a major global engineering and construction enterprise. He represented corporate interests before federal, state, and local governments, worked on federal appropriations associated with company priorities, coordinated outside government affairs resources, and participated in numerous transportation and infrastructure industry committees. The position gave Ed an important corporate perspective on the relationship between public policy and commercial strategy—an understanding that continues to shape the counsel he provides to executives and organizations today.
His career in government affairs began with a foundation in legislative research and progressively expanded into industry advocacy and executive leadership. After working as a research assistant with the Congressional Research Service, where he collected and synthesized information for members of Congress and congressional staff, Ed moved into transportation policy advocacy with the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. He later became Director of Government Affairs for the Transportation Intermediaries Association, where he established and managed an internal government affairs program and represented the third-party transportation industry on issues involving federal transportation legislation, shipping policy, regulation, and other industry priorities. Each successive role expanded his responsibilities and provided deeper insight into how government decisions affect industries, markets, and individual companies.
Communication has been equally central to Ed’s professional identity. He has testified before committees in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and has served as a keynote speaker and presenter at transportation and infrastructure events around the country. As a spokesperson for organizations and industry initiatives, he has appeared on national media outlets including CNN, NBC, and CNBC and has participated in radio programs including The Howard Stern Show. His perspectives have also been cited by major publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, and numerous local and industry publications. These experiences have strengthened his ability to communicate complicated policy and business matters clearly, whether addressing policymakers, journalists, corporate leaders, industry specialists, or broader public audiences.
Ed also brings an international perspective developed through professional engagement involving Canada and Europe, including Brussels and institutions of the European Union. He understands that infrastructure, technology, communications, and positioning systems increasingly operate within interconnected global regulatory and geopolitical environments. His ability to consider domestic government policy alongside international developments provides an additional dimension to his work with companies navigating changing markets, emerging technologies, and regulatory complexity. He remains open to international travel and opportunities that allow him to contribute this perspective to organizations with global ambitions or cross-border interests.
Board and advisory service represents a natural extension of Ed’s career. He previously served on the Board of Advisors of the Eno Foundation and has spent approximately 15 years connected with transportation infrastructure advisory activities. Having worked with start-ups, major corporations, national associations, coalitions, and government institutions, he understands that organizations of different sizes face distinctly different strategic challenges. He is particularly interested in contributing to companies with approximately 150 or more employees across infrastructure, building and construction, technology and artificial intelligence, global positioning systems, and adjacent sectors, while remaining open to compelling opportunities in other industries.
As he transitions from a full-time executive position toward consulting, advisory, and board opportunities, Ed offers organizations an unusual combination of institutional knowledge and practical business experience. He understands how decisions are made in Washington and across other levels of government, but equally important, he understands why those decisions matter inside a business. He can help leadership teams interpret political and regulatory developments, identify potential opportunities and risks, strengthen stakeholder strategies, and consider how public policy should factor into long-term corporate planning. His experience working with both emerging businesses and large established enterprises allows him to bring context and perspective to boardroom discussions where government, technology, infrastructure, reputation, and growth intersect.
Ed earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from American University and later completed Georgetown University’s Executive Management Program. His professional development has therefore combined formal study of government and politics with decades of direct executive and industry experience. Away from his professional responsibilities, Ed is a lifelong swimmer and an enthusiastic sports fan, with particular interests in Penn State football and Washington-area sports. Those personal interests complement a career characterized by energy, curiosity, relationship building, and a sustained commitment to participating in organizations and communities over the long term.
At the center of Ed’s leadership philosophy is a belief that organizations make better decisions when they understand not only their own businesses, but also the broader environment in which those businesses operate. His career has consistently required him to look beyond immediate policy debates and consider the larger implications for companies, industries, communities, and economic growth. Whether advising executives, representing an organization before government, communicating publicly, or contributing at the board level, Ed brings a practical understanding of how policy, business strategy, infrastructure, technology, and stakeholder interests converge. It is this combination of perspective, relationships, communication experience, and real-world judgment that he seeks to bring to his next generation of board and advisory engagements.
Character:
Ed brings a collaborative, energetic, and relationship-oriented approach developed through more than three decades of working with executives, policymakers, associations, and diverse industry stakeholders. He approaches leadership with curiosity, professionalism, accountability, and an appreciation for the importance of building trust when navigating complex environments.
Knowledge:
He possesses deep experience in government affairs, infrastructure policy, transportation, emerging technology, federal legislative processes, stakeholder engagement, and public-private collaboration. His background across government research, associations, multinational corporations, and a publicly traded technology company gives him a broad understanding of how policy developments translate into practical business consequences.
Strategic:
Ed has spent his career helping organizations interpret external developments and position themselves for emerging opportunities while managing legislative, regulatory, reputational, and stakeholder considerations. His experience integrating government affairs with executive decision-making enables him to contribute a policy and geopolitical perspective to broader conversations about corporate strategy, growth, technology, and long-term resilience.
Communication:
An experienced spokesperson, congressional witness, public speaker, writer, and media resource who can translate complicated issues for audiences ranging from senior executives and policymakers to journalists and industry stakeholders. His appearances across national media, extensive press citations, congressional testimony, and public speaking experience demonstrate an ability to represent organizations credibly while making sophisticated policy and business issues accessible.
