Lobbying World

By The Hill Staff - 05/10/11 06:51 PM ET

• Mary Beth Cahill has been appointed to head up the Washington office of the United Auto Workers. Cahill recently co-founded the Atlas Project. Previously, she served as assistant to the president and director of the Office of Public Liaison during the Clinton White House. She also led John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004 as campaign director and served as the chief of staff for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.).

• Rod Hunter will join the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) on June 10 as senior vice president of international advocacy. Hunter will leave his position at IBM, where he is vice president of governmental programs in Europe. Before that, Hunter worked as special assistant to the president and senior director of the National Security Council under President George W. Bush. He also worked as special counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

• Bill Hughes has joined the Retail Industry Leaders Association as senior vice president for government relations. Hughes previously worked for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) as chief of staff. Prior to that, he was senior manager of government relations for General Electric. Hughes has served as Republican staff director for the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, worked as staff director for the Republican Policy Committee and served under former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).

• Daniella Gibbs Leger has been hired as vice president for the new American communities initiative at the Center for American Progress. Leger served in the Obama administration as special assistant to the president and director of message events. Leger previously worked for the center as vice president for communications.

• David Becker has returned to Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton to work as a partner after leaving the firm in 2009 to join the Securities and Exchange Commission. Becker left his position as general counsel and senior policy director with the SEC in February, and served as general counsel for the SEC from 2000 to 2002.

• Kara Gerhardt Ross has joined UPS to lead its corporate public-relations firm in Washington. Before that, she worked as senior director for Qorvis Communications and director of media relations at the Transportation Department. She also worked in White House Press Advance during the Clinton administration.