Kathryn Herrity, a former CBP auditor, has joined customs compliance firm Deleon Trade as a senior trade auditor, the firm announced. Herrity served as a senior auditor and field quality auditor of CBP's Trade Regulatory Audit in Chicago for the past 14 years.

Three international trade attorneys, Sarah Sprinkle, Jared Cynamon and Marisa Littlefield, joined Sandler Travis, the firm announced. Sprinkle joins the firm as a member and co-lead of the trade remedies practice after most recently working as senior counsel at Akin Gump. Cynamon joins as an associate after conducting trade remedies work at the Commerce Department. Littlefield joins as a customs attorney associate after graduating from the American University Washington College of Law.

Tom Gould is joining Gaia Dynamics as chief strategy and compliance officer, he said on LinkedIn. The start-up advertises “AI-driven tools for precise classification and real-time tariff calculations.” Gould said he will continue his independent trade compliance consulting work.

BigBear.ai announced last week that former CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan is its new CEO. McAleenan previously was president of the company, which provides artificial intelligence-powered decision offerings.

Former International Trade Commissioner chair and current commissioner Rhonda Schmidtlein will join WilmerHale as a partner in the international trade, investment and market access practice group, the firm announced. The ITC, in a concurrent press release, said the commissioner will step down Feb. 1. Schmidtlein was confirmed to the ITC in 2014, previously serving as chair for 17 months in 2017-18.

John Goodrich, founder of trade compliance consultancy J.D. Goodrich and Associates, retired as of Jan. 1, according to his LinkedIn profile. The company’s website says that it’s no longer taking new clients.

Lowell De France joined Navia USA as director of customs and trade compliance, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was previously manager of customs brokerage at CJ Logistics.

Philip Luck is leaving his role as the State Department’s deputy chief economist to become the new Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the think tank announced this week. Luck will focus on “issues at the intersection of economics and national security planning,” CSIS said, including U.S. technology competition and supply chain resilience. He will replace outgoing chair Bill Reinsch, a former Bureau of Industry and Security official during the Bill Clinton administration, who will continue to do research at CSIS.

Alejo Cabranes, former senior policy adviser with the Treasury Department, is joining DOJ as an attorney in its National Security Division, he announced on LinkedIn. Cabranes has worked at Treasury since 2023, where he helped implement sanctions and anti-money laundering policies.

Hal Brands, a Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies professor and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, was appointed to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, the commission announced Jan. 7. The term ends Dec. 31, 2026. Brands was chosen by former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.