Disney extends contract of Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy through June 2024; it was to expire year-end 2022; Disney also hires Spotify's Horacio Gutierrez as senior executive vice president-general counsel and secretary, effective Feb. 1 ... ViacomCBS moves Casey Kespohl to vice president-brand strategy and development, CBS Stations, a newly created position, and he remains based at WCCO-TV Minneapolis.
At Salem Media, CEO Edward Atsinger moves to newly created role of executive chairman; board taps President-Broadcast Media David Santrella to become CEO; President-Digital Media and Publishing David Evans advances to chief operating officer; Chairman Stuart Epperson resigns from the board, becoming chairman emeritus, and Stuart Epperson Jr. joins the board, filling that vacancy; moves are effective Jan. 1.
Interactive Advertising Bureau hires Lartease Tiffith, ex-Amazon, as executive vice president-public policy, "on the heels of news that the Internet Association is dissolving at the end of the year" (see our recent report on IA); IAB also adds Brendan Thomas, ex-Plastics Industry Association, as vice president-public policy communications ... Aimee Meacham, who recently left NTIA (see this section, Dec. 8 issue of this publication), says she's going to BT as vice president-government affairs, U.S. and international.
Shulman Rogers' Alan Tilles says he's leaving the law firm at year-end and beginning a solo law practice "in the telecom and entertainment law areas" ... Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) nominates Patrick Cicero to be the state’s consumer advocate at the Office of Consumer Advocate, where he starts in an acting capacity pending Senate confirmation; Cicero was executive director, Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network ... National Emergency Number Association adds Colorado 911 expert Vicki Pickett as NENA’s education & training director.
North Carolina Chief Information Officer Jim Weaver appoints privacy expert-attorney Cherie Givens as the state’s first privacy officer ... Gov. Janet Mills (D) nominates energy and utility attorney William Harwood as public advocate for state of Maine; he's senior adviser-regulatory affairs, Governor’s Energy Office and he would replace Barry Hobbins, who retired as public advocate in June; Deputy Public Advocate Andrew Landry has been acting public advocate; Mills also puts forward as planned Andrew Butcher for president of the newly-created Maine Connectivity Authority.
Altice USA Executive Vice President-Government & Community Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer Lee Schroeder leaves the company in July, with community affairs and chief diversity officer roles going to Executive Vice President-Communications Lisa Gonzalez Anselmo, who continues to report to CEO Dexter Goei; the cable operator "will look to appoint a new head of Government Affairs" ... Among others leaving the FCC whose departure was announced Tuesday by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel (see this section, Dec. 15 issue of this publication) are Wireline Bureau's Pricing Policy Division Deputy Chief Robin Cohn, who says retirement begins at year-end.
CTA hires American Chemistry Council’s Ed Brzytwa, also ex-Information Technology Industry Council, as vice president-international trade, succeeding departed Sage Chandler ... Among FCC staffers whom Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced Tuesday are retiring: FCC Continuity Manager.Bart Bartholomew; and, from the Media Bureau, David Roberts, attorney-adviser in the Video Division, and Shontail Ennis, administrative management specialist on the bureau’s management and resources staff.
At University of Colorado Law School, Silicon Flatirons Executive Director Amie Stepanovich resigns; Brad Bernthal, associate professor at the school and director of the Entrepreneurship Initiative at Silicon Flatirons, becomes the organization's interim executive director; Future of Privacy Forum hires Stepanovich as vice president-U.S. policy, effective in January ... Lincoln Network's Garrett Johnson takes a "non-executive leadership role as chairman," and fellow co-founder Aaron Ginn joins the board; Head-Policy Zach Graves moves up to executive director ... Squire Patton taps Gardner Foster, ex-SpaceX, as of counsel, Communications Practice.
President Joe Biden appoints California Public Utilities Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves as administrator of EPA Region 9, serving states including California, starting Dec. 20 ... BakerHostetler hires Jennifer Mitchell, ex-Sony Pictures Entertainment, as partner and member, Digital Assets and Data Management Practice Group ... Nebraska Public Service Commission votes unanimously to hire retired Nebraska Army National Guard Colonel Thomas Golden as the PSC's executive director, replacing Mike Hybl, who retired in September ... CTIA hires from the office of Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Sydney Pettit, who joins as director-government affairs.
Sidley promotions, effective Jan. 1, include, to partners Emily Zipperstein, who works on mergers and acquisitions and digital media and commercial transactions; Lauren Grau, who advises on intellectual property in connection with M&A and other deals, with clients in telecom, information technology, software, media and consumer products; Rachelle Soderstrom, who works on technology and IP including in takeovers; and Benjamin Mundel, who represents telecom and other firms at trial and arbitration; while Marc Korman, who represents broadcasters, wireless operators and others on FCC and related communications law issues, moves up to counsel.