Personnel Notes

The Recording Industry Association of American named current president Cary Sherman chairman and chief executive on Monday following the resignation of Mitch Bainwol to join the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

Sherman has served as president since 2001 after joining the RIAA as general counsel in 1997. He previously spent 26 years at the Washington, D.C., firm of Arnold & Porter, where he was senior partner, outside counsel to the RIAA and the head of the firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology Practice Group.

“I’m honored to take on this role at such a pivotal moment for music,” Sherman said. “The industry is now reaching a new stage, with exciting initiatives, compelling legal music offerings, and real signs of progress on a host of fronts. The RIAA plays an important role in helping shape public policy in connection with America’s music.

Sherman's area of expertise is reconciling developing technologies and intellectual property laws. Most recently he was credited with coordinating the new copyright alerts system between the entertainment industry and Internet service providers. Digital piracy remains the top priority of the music industry's Washington outreach efforts.

Hewlett-Packard announced Tuesday it had chosen Gregg Melinson to serve as its new vice president of global government affairs.

He will be based in HP's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., and serve as deputy general counsel for the company.

For much of the last 20 years, Melinson has been a partner at the law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath. From 1995 to 1997, he served as deputy general counsel to then-Gov. Tom Ridge (R-Pa.).

Melinson succeeds Larry Irving as HP's head of government affairs. Irving, a former technology adviser to President Clinton, left HP in June.

Melinson will begin his new job on Sept. 19.

Gary Locke formally resigned as Commerce secretary Monday to become the first Chinese-American to serve as U.S. ambassador to China. 

The Senate confirmed Locke on Wednesday after more than two years at the helm of the Commerce Department. He replaces Republican Jon Huntsman, who has entered the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Locke previously served as governor of Washington for two terms.

During his tenure at Commerce, Locke has been primarily focused on boosting U.S. exports, particularly to emerging Asian powers China and India. He heads to Beijing at a time when concerns over the U.S. deficit have added tension to the increasingly intertwined economic relationship between the two nations.

“From Asia to South America to Ohio and Iowa, I have met with foreign leaders, CEOs, inventors and small business owners. Throughout my travels, I have seen the worldwide appeal of American products and the ingenuity of the American people," Locke said.

CTIA-The Wireless Association announced Thursday that Jamie Hastings will be joining the trade group on Sept. 6 as vice president of external and state affairs.

In her new job Hastings will advocate for the wireless industry on policy issues facing all levels of state government. She will also analyze state legislation regulatory proposals to ensure they reflect the current state of a rapidly evolving industry.

"Jamie has an outstanding reputation of being an effective advocate for the industry,” said Steve Largent, president and CEO of CTIA-The Wireless Association, in a statement.

"I look forward to working with her on a variety of matters, ranging from stopping the discriminatory taxes and fees on wireless consumers’ bills, educating policymakers about online privacy, expanding mobile broadband access for all and encouraging young people to use their wireless devices responsibly."

Hastings spent the past 11 years working for T-Mobile USA as vice president of state legislative affairs. The government is currently reviewing AT&T's proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile. She has also worked for the County of Westerchester and the City of Yonkers in New York.

Hastings earned a J.D. from Union University Albany Law School and a bachelor of arts in English from Fordham University.

President Obama announced his intent to nominate Maureen Ohlhausen to the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, a sign of the agency's increasing focus on technology policy issues.

Ohlhausen is currently an attorney at Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP, where she is a partner in the firm’s privacy, data protection and cybersecurity practice. She previously worked at the Business Software Alliance as technology policy counsel from January to November 2009.

Should she be confirmed in the near future, Ohlhausen's tech expertise could come into play during the FTC's recently announced antitrust investigation into Google. Competitors argue Google uses its search results to promote its own services; the search giant says it strives to provide the best possible results.

From 1997 to 2008, Ohlhausen worked at the FTC in a number of leadership roles, including as director of the Office of Policy Planning and earlier as an attorney adviser for Commissioner Orson Swindle.

Ohlhausen has also clerked at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. She is a senior editor of the American Bar Association's Antitrust Law Journal and has taught privacy law and unfair trade practices as an adjunct professor at George Mason University School of Law.

Ohlhausen graduated from the University of Virginia in 1984 and earned a J.D. from George Mason University School of Law in 1991.

Facebook recently added two more Beltway insiders to its policy communications team: former Obama White House staffer Sarah Feinberg and Tucker Bounds, who served as deputy communications director for Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) 2008 presidential campaign.

Bounds has been working for Facebook as a consultant and will focus on state governments and community relations. Feinberg will manage communications around privacy, security, safety and litigation. Both will be based at the firm's Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters.

Facebook is facing increasing scrutiny from lawmakers ahead of the upcoming debate on comprehensive privacy and security legislation, particularly with regards to how far it goes to block underage users from the site. Facebook maintains it eliminates accounts of underage children when notified.

Feinberg comes to Facebook from Bloomberg LP, where she served as director of global communications and business strategy. She previously served as special assistant to President Obama and senior adviser to former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. She graduated from Washington and Lee University.

Bounds served as deputy campaign manager and communications director for former eBay CEO Meg Whitman's failed 2008 gubernatorial campaign in California. He also worked for the Republican National Committee and President George W. Bush's 2004 campaign. Bounds graduated from the University of Oregon.

Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division Christine Varney announced her resignation on Wednesday, effective Aug. 5.

Microsoft announced the hiring former Bush administration official Suhail Khan as director of external affairs in the firm's Washington, D.C., office on Tuesday.

In his new position, Khan will work to build relationships between the software giant and think tanks, advocacy groups and political organizations. He will report to vice president of U.S. government affairs Fred Humphries.

“Suhail’s rich background in public policy and foreign relations will help build Microsoft’s relationships in order to raise the awareness about important technology issues,” Humphries said. “His passion for advocacy and positions in the federal government will bring a wealth of experience to this position.”

Currently a senior fellow at the Institute for Global Engagement, Khan served as a senior political employee under President George W. Bush at the White House and Department of Transportation.

Khan earned a B.A. in political science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1991 and his J.D. from the University of Iowa in 1995.

Once a primary target of federal antitrust scrutiny, Microsoft's profile has given way in recent years as lawmakers and regulators have increasingly concerned themselves with Web and mobile-focused firms such as Google and Facebook over privacy and security concerns.

Republican Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell announced Friday that Erin McGrath will join his staff as acting legal adviser for media issues.

McGrath has been at the commission since March 2000, most recently serving as assistant division chief in the Wireless Bureau's Mobility Division. She has also served as interim legal adviser to Commissioner Meredith Baker for wireless and public safety issues and was instrumental in several major wireless transactions.

“I am looking forward to Erin joining my office as acting legal advisor for media issues," McDowell said in a statement.

"Erin brings with her both a depth and breadth of experience from her 11 years here at the Commission including extensive work with a variety of wireless and media transaction reviews, rulemakings and auctions."

McGrath received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Rosemary Harold, who has been McDowell's legal adviser for media issues since September 2008, has decided to consider opportunities outside the commission. McDowell thanked her for her service and called her legal skills "unsurpassed."

Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski named Zachary Katz chief counsel and senior legal adviser, making him the point person for managing the Commission's overall agenda.

The position opened up when the FCC announced Rick Kaplan would be leaving to take over as chief of the Wireless Bureau. Katz was the candidate most favored by public interest advocates for his work on the FCC's net-neutrality rules, which he helped steer through months of delicate meetings.

Katz joined the FCC in 2009 and served as deputy bureau chief in the Office of Strategic Planning. He earned a law degree from Yale where he was editor-in-chief of The Yale Law Journal. Prior to law school he worked with technology companies at a strategy and consulting firm in Silicon Valley.

Genachowski also announced that Sherrese Smith, currently a legal adviser, will become senior counsel and Amy Levine, currently special counsel, will also take on a role as legal adviser. Both were considered candidates for Katz's position.

Levine worked for several Democrats on the Hill and has focused on spectrum incentive auctions while in the chairman's office. Smith was the candidate most favored by media and cable interests and is the longest-serving of the three at the FCC.