Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Alumni
  • Login
  • Volunteer
  • Clubs
  • Reunions
  • Magazine
  • Class Notes
  • Help
  • Give Now
  • Stories
  • Alumni Directory
  • Lifelong Learning
  • Careers
  • Programs & Events
  • Giving
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Alumni→
  • Stories→

Stories

Stories

01 Oct 2001

Christopher Cox: Capitol Hill Intellectual

Re: Chris Cox (MBA 1976); By: Susan Young
Topics: Government and Politics-State GovernmentCareer-Managing CareersGovernment and Politics-Taxation
ShareBar

Christopher Cox

Photo by Katherine Lambert

In reviewing Christopher Cox's CV, one might assume that his career has been well thought out. Cox took only three years to earn a BA in English and political science at the University of Southern California; received a joint degree from HBS and Harvard Law School; clerked at the U.S. Court of Appeals; made partner at Latham & Watkins, where he specialized in corporate finance; founded (with his father) a company that published an English version of the Russian newspaper Pravda; was appointed senior associate counsel to President Ronald Reagan; and then, in 1988, was elected to represent California's Orange County in the U.S. Congress.

But when questioned about the job he's held for the last thirteen years, Cox replies, "Running for Congress was entirely an impulse decision. I did not even think about it until the day I decided to do it." At the time, he was immersed in politics, working in the White House. He was a single man with energy and experience who saw an open congressional seat, an overcrowded GOP primary (with fourteen candidates), and an opportunity to put his skills to work for the people of his adopted home state. "I'm sure that if I had given it the kind of careful consideration that normally goes with a significant career change, I wouldn't have done it," says the St. Paul, Minnesota, native.

Cox attributes winning the election to his ability to differentiate himself from his competition by highlighting his national and international experience. Such experience has served him well as he has introduced numerous pieces of legislation that have, among other things, repealed inheritance taxes (the so-called death tax), banned taxes on Internet commerce, and limited fraudulent securities lawsuits. Now in his seventh term, the Newport Beach resident chairs the House Policy Committee and is a member of several committees, including the House Leadership Steering Committee.

Beyond being a politician, Cox, who learned to speak Russian in college and was editor of the Harvard Law Review, is known on Capitol Hill as an intellectual. His name has been mentioned for a U.S. Court of Appeals —and even Supreme Court —judgeship, and some think he could be Presidential material. He admires his friend and fellow Republican Vice President Dick Cheney for being "a solid conservative, intelligent, competent, and low-key," many of the qualities for which Cox himself has been praised.

While Cox is proud of his professional accomplishments, the role he cherishes most is that of spouse and father. In 1992, he married Rebecca Gernhardt, now a vice president at Continental Airlines. The pair first met when both were working in the Reagan White House. "She outranked me, and I thought that was good preparation for marriage," he says, flashing his signature grin. "I always knew that I would like to be a father, but I had no idea how wonderful the experience would be," adds Cox, whose Washington office is filled with photos of Rebecca and their two sons and daughter. "Of all of the things I do, I put being a husband and father at the top of the list."

—Susan Young

ShareBar

Featured Alumni

Chris Cox
MBA 1976
Login to send a message

Post a Comment

Featured Alumni

Chris Cox
MBA 1976
Login to send a message

Related Stories

    • 10 Dec 2019
    • Boston Globe

    At Massport, New CEO is Ready for Change

    Re: Lisa Wieland (MBA 2001)
    • 30 Mar 2017
    • Skydeck

    Negotiating Peace in Canada's Largest Rainforest

    Re: Wally Eamer (MBA 1979)
    • 01 Mar 2017
    • HBS Alumni Bulletin

    The Middle Way

    Re: Wally Eamer (MBA 1979); By: Dan Morrell; photos by Kamil Bialous
    • 22 Sep 2015
    • Making A Difference

    Finding New Ways to Solve Civic Problems

    Re: Ryan Mackenzie (MBA 2010)

More Related Stories

Stories Featuring Chris Cox

    • 01 Sep 2006
    • Alumni Stories

    Private Sector and Public Interest Meet at Global Leadership Forum

    Re: Charlie Rossotti (MBA 1964); Jeff Immelt (MBA 1982); Chris Cox (MBA 1976); George Bush (MBA 1975)
    • 01 Sep 2006
    • Alumni Stories

    Strange Bedfellows

    Re: Chris Cox (MBA 1976); By: Mihir A. Desai
    • 01 Sep 2005
    • Alumni Stories

    Will He or Won’t He?

    Re: Chris Cox (MBA 1976); George Bush (MBA 1975); Bill Donaldson (MBA 1958)
 
 
 
ǁ
Campus Map
External Relations
Harvard Business School
Teele Hall
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
Phone: 1.617.495.6890
Email: alumni+hbs.edu
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
  • Terms of Use
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.