Mr. Cole has been with the Council of Better Business Bureaus in Arlington, Virginia, USA since 1987. The Council is the national organization representing 129 Better Business Bureaus in the United States and 15 in Canada.
    Mr. Cole is also General Counsel to the National Advertising Review Board, the U.S. advertising industry's voluntary self-regulation program, and to BBBOnLine, the Council's online subsidiary. BBBOnLine operates two Internet self-regulation programs, one to help consumers find reliable companies, and one to protect online privacy.
    From 1983-1987, Mr. Cole was Director of Consumer and Investor Affairs in the Maryland Attorney General's Office where he was responsible for both the Consumer Protection and Securities Divisions.
    Mr. Cole also held positions with the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare and the Center on Social Welfare Policy and Law. He was in private practice in Washington, DC, and he has taught at Columbia Law School, in New York City.
    Mr. Cole graduated from Columbia Law School in 1967. He is a member of the New York, Maryland and District of Columbia Bars.