Today, the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) joins with the antitrust community in mourning the loss of the 54th Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Robert Pitofsky.
“Robert Pitofsky was and will remain a giant in the field and a hero to antitrust progressives,” said AAI President Diana Moss. “His intellectual leadership inspired a generation of antitrust lawyers and economists who are committed to reinvigorating enforcement,” Moss said. The AAI, which remains at the forefront of the progressive antitrust movement, has a mission that was inspired in no small part by Bob Pitofsky’s contributions.
AAI Founder and former President, Bert Foer, said of Pitofsky’s passing, “Bob was a friend of the AAI from its inception. He was an academic, an outstanding law school dean, a lawyer, and by general acclaim the greatest alumnus in the history of the FTC.” Foer also noted Pitofsky’s recognition as a leader of the international antitrust community. “He was a gentle and thoughtful man, and will be especially missed by those who had the privilege of knowing him,” Foer added.
In 2001, at AAI’s Second Annual Conference, Pitofsky was given the Alfred E. Kahn Award for Antitrust Achievement, which honors outstanding contributions to the field of antitrust. “We hope the occasion of Pitofsky’s passing will prompt renewed attention to his remarkable ideas, his commitment to intellectual honesty, and his outstanding scholarship,” said Moss.
AAI sends condolences to the Pitofsky family, to the faculty and staff at Georgetown Law, where Bob served for many years as dean, and to the countless colleagues, acquaintances and friends whose lives he touched. Bob Pitofsky will be missed.
