Melissa Holyoak | |
---|---|
![]() Official portrait, 2024 | |
Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission | |
Assumed office March 25, 2024 | |
President | Joe Biden |
Preceded by | Christine S. Wilson |
Solicitor General of Utah | |
In office September 2020 –March 2024 | |
Attorney General | Sean Reyes |
Preceded by | Tyler R. Green |
Succeeded by | Stanford E. Purser |
Personal details | |
Born | Boise,Idaho,U.S. | October 6,1976
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Joshua Holyoak |
Children | 4 |
Education | University of Utah (BA,JD) |
Melissa Ann Holyoak (born October 6,1976) [1] is an American lawyer serving since 2024 as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. [2] She previously served as the solicitor general of Utah from 2020 to 2024.
Holyoak was born Melissa Ann Watkins on October 6,1976,in Boise,Idaho. [1] She graduated from the University of Utah in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts in French. She then attended the university's S.J. Quinney College of Law,where she was an editor of the Utah Law Review. She graduated in 2003 with a Juris Doctor degree with Order of the Coif membership. [3]
From 2003 to 2008,Holyoak was an associate in the Washington,D.C. office of the law firm O'Melveny &Myers while her husband attended medical school in Baltimore. [4] After spending several years as a homemaker while raising her and her husband's young children,Holyoak became a part-time public interest attorney with the Center for Class Action Fairness in 2012. [4] She served as president and general counsel of Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute,a Washington,D.C.-based public interest firm representing consumers challenging unfair class actions and regulatory overreach. [3] Holyoak was one of the successful petitioners in the 2019 Supreme Court case Frank v. Gaos . [5] [6]
In September 2020, [7] Holyoak became the Utah Solicitor General with the Utah Attorney General’s Office,where she manages the civil appeals,criminal appeals,constitutional defense and special litigation,and antitrust and data privacy divisions. [3] In that capacity,she oversees merger reviews,data privacy and antitrust enforcement actions,and provides leadership in consumer protection matters. [3]
A Republican,Holyoak was nominated by U.S. president Joe Biden in July 2023 to serve as a member of the Federal Trade Commission. [8] Her nomination was confirmed by the Senate on March 7,2024. [9]
In May 2024,Holyoak dissented when the Commission conditioned approval of the $64.5 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources by ExxonMobil upon the prohibition of founder Scott D. Sheffield from the company's board. [10] [11]
In May 2024,Holyoak dissented when the Commission decided to proceed to trial in its challenge to the $24.6 billion proposed acquisition of Albertsons by Kroger. [12] [13]
In June 2024,Holyoak,dissented when the Commission issued a final rule banning non-compete clauses in most employment contracts. [14] [15] In August 2024,U.S. District Judge Ada Brown issued a nationwide injunction prohibiting enforcement of the rule. [16]
In September 2024,Holyoak dissented when the Commission conditioned approval of the $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corporation by Chevron Corporation upon the prohibition of John B. Hess from the company's board. [17] [18]
Holyoak's husband,Joshua Holyoak,is a urologist. They have four children and live in Utah. [3]