Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services hired Mike Wilder as vice president of business practice innovation, the company said. Wilder previously worked as regional customs manager for North America at Delphi.
Executive Director of the Public Policy Lab at eBay, Brian Bieron, will serve as chair of the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) Trade Committee, the NFTC announced on March 11. As a House Rules Committee staffer on Capitol Hill, Bieron worked on the North America Free Trade Agreement, the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade Uruguay Round, Permanent Normalized Trade Relations for China and Trade Promotion Authority, the NFTC said. NFTC President Bill Reinsch appointed Bieron as chair, a NFTC spokeswoman said.
Sidley Austin appointed Jim Mendenhall, a former general counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, as a partner in the law firm, said Sidley in a press release.
BGR Government Affairs hired Joshua Lamel, ex-Computer & Communications Industry Association, as vice president, to work on tax, trade and technology and effective March 3. Lamel also previously worked on the staff of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
Former assistant to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for the World Trade Organization Christopher Wilson recently rejoined the Office of the USTR and will soon take over as deputy chief of mission at the WTO, said a USTR spokeswoman. Director-General Roberto Azevêdo appointed former USTR deputy chief of mission David Shark as a WTO deputy in September (here), requiring Shark to vacate the USTR position. Wilson was senior director with C&M International before returning to USTR.
Jayson Ahern, formerly acting commissioner of CBP, was appointed to the advisory board of Decision Sciences International Corp., said the company in a Feb. 18 press release. Ahern is currently a principal with The Chertoff Group, consulting on security and supply chain issues.
Scott Lowden , previously Of Counsel with Braumiller Law Group, left the firm to work on his own, he said by email. Lowden will "continue practicing trade law now with my own clients, at my own pace and I’ll try to do more writing, probably for blogs and newsletters," he said. Additionally, he'll work to promote a recently published book on importing law fundamentals, he said.
FedEx Trade Networks named Jack Muhs president and CEO on Feb. 10, FedEx said. In that position, Muhs is responsible for the company’s air and ocean freight forwarding, customs brokerage and e-commerce and international trade facilitation solutions. Muhs previously worked as a senior vice president of U.S. International Global Planning, Engineering and Trade Services at FedEx Express.
The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) Board of Directors elected Rick Muskat, owner of Deer Stags Concepts, as FDRA’s Vice Chairman and Ed Rosenfeld, CEO of Steve Madden, as FDRA’s Treasurer in a Feb. 4 vote. The board also elected President of RG Barry Corporation, Greg Tunney, to serve another term as FDRA chairman. The FDRA board elects leadership annually, said a spokesman.
Ciena has hired Laura Wallace, previously with Northrop Grumman, as import export compliance manager for North America, she said by email.