The New York Times reports that President-elect Joseph Biden has selected Ron Klain, a long-time associate and currently the executive vice president at the venture capital company Revolution, to serve as his White House chief of staff.

Klain previously held the position of chief of staff for Biden during a two-year period within the Obama administration. He transitioned to a full-time role with Revolution in 2011, a company established by Steve Case, the former CEO and founder of AOL.

In a statement published on his blog, Steve Case extended his congratulations to Klain on his new role, expressing regret at his departure while also noting optimism regarding pandemic recovery and national progress with Klain’s expertise supporting the President. Klain maintained an association with Revolution in various capacities beginning in 2005.

Should Klain accept this position, President Biden will be appointing a chief of staff with whom he has a relationship spanning over 35 years. Their initial collaboration dates back to 1989, when Biden was serving as a senator and Klain was a recent graduate of Harvard Law School. More recently, Klain functioned as the White House Ebola Response coordinator from October 2014 to February 2015, and contributed as a debate advisor to Presidents Obama and Clinton, as well as to presidential candidates Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton.

Klain’s appointment may help to ease potential friction between the startup community and the government during the Biden-Harris administration. Biden has publicly discussed plans for robust regulation of the technology sector, which could have adverse effects on major companies such as Google, Apple, and Facebook. Klain has previously voiced concerns (as reported by TechCrunch) about how regulations could impede innovation within the startup ecosystem. He also played a key role in initiatives for Higher Ground Labs, an incubator and accelerator concentrating on startups with a political focus and Democratic support. While this likely won’t directly affect large technology firms, it is noteworthy that a close advisor to Biden is supportive of startups.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include a statement from Steve Case, the former CEO and founder of AOL and Revolution.