July 10, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Consumer Reports, the world’s largest independent, nonprofit consumer organization, has named David Friedman as Director of Cars and Product Policy and Analysis for Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports.
Mr. Friedman is a widely respected leader and innovator whose work has fundamentally improved the lives of consumers. He served as both Deputy and Acting Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), where he led the agency’s mission to save lives, prevent injuries and reduce economic costs due to road traffic crashes. He most recently served at the U.S. Department of Energy as Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), where he led the organization’s efforts to accelerate the ongoing transition to clean energy.
“David brings deep knowledge of policy and technology, as well as a passionate commitment to helping consumers. His wealth of experience and leadership is a true asset to our organization,” said Jessica Rich, Vice President of Consumer Policy and Mobilization, Consumer Reports. “He will play an essential role in our mission to advance the safety and sustainability of the cars and products we buy, and we are delighted to welcome him to our team.”
Mr. Friedman is leading Consumers Union’s public policy and analytical efforts to ensure automobiles and other products are safe for consumers, improve consumer options for energy efficiency and cleaner energy, and guide other important initiatives.
“I am thrilled to be joining Consumer Reports at this critical time for consumer protection,” said Mr. Friedman. “This organization has an extraordinary history of moving the marketplace to save both lives and consumers’ money, and I’m excited to be a part of the effort to heighten and expand its work.”
Prior to his senior leadership positions at NHTSA and the Department of Energy, Mr. Friedman worked for 12 years at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) in several different capacities, including senior engineer, research director, and deputy director of their clean vehicles program. Before joining UCS, he worked for the University of California, Davis in the Fuel Cell Vehicle Modeling Program. A Rhode Island native, he earned his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Davis.
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Contact: David Butler, 202-462-6262, ext. 7416, or dbutler@consumer.org
Consumers Union is the policy and mobilization arm of Consumer Reports. Consumers Union works for health reform, food and product safety, financial reform, and other consumer issues in Washington, D.C., the states, and in the marketplace. Consumer Reports is the world’s largest independent product-testing organization. Using its more than 50 labs, auto test center, and survey research center, the nonprofit rates thousands of products and services annually.