Former Sidley Austin partner Brian Nester joined Covington & Burling as a partner in its Washington, D.C.-based patent litigation practice, the firm announced in a June 15 press release. Nester has litigated extensively before the International Trade Commission and federal district courts across the country.

Paul Marquardt joined Davis Polk as a partner in its Washington, D.C.-based Financial Institutions Group, the firm announced in a June 14 news release. Marquardt previously led the foreign investment and national security practice at Cleary Gottlieb, where he worked with the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security.

Mehlman Castagnetti hired Alex Perkins, who was most recently senior manager of international government affairs at Stellantis, previously known as Fiat Chrysler, the lobbying firm said in a June 8 news release. “A top expert in trade, customs and supply chain policy, Perkins developed and executed a government relations and public affairs strategy to guide the Fortune 500 automaker through the NAFTA/USMCA renegotiations and helped lead the multi-sector USMCA business coalition,” the firm said. Before joining the auto industry, Perkins was counsel for the House Ways and Means Committee and for Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics has hired former European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom as a nonresident senior fellow. She will host PIIE’s biweekly Trade Winds webcast, it said.

Joshua Snead, who has worked for Republicans on the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee for more than five years, has been promoted to chief trade counsel, since longtime chief trade counsel Angela Ellard is headed to a deputy director-general position at the World Trade Organization. Before going to Ways and Means, Snead was an associate for King & Spalding’s International Trade Group, and worked for the National Pork Producers Council on trade policy.

The National Foreign Trade Council hired Ben Wastler, previously a lawyer at CBP, as senior director for international supply chain policy, the trade group said in a news release. "In his new role, he will help NFTC expand its capacity on customs, international trade-related regulatory issues, and key supply chain issues including counterfeiting, product safety, labor rights policies and illicit trade, trade facilitation, customs best practices, and other policies to support the resilience and stability of global supply chains," it said.

Sarah Bianchi, whose nomination for a deputy U.S. trade representative role was previously announced (see 2104160066), will have the textiles, services and industrial competitiveness portfolio, and will cover Asia and Africa at the agency, if she is confirmed.

Arent Fox tapped Canadian international trade lawyer Riyaz Dattu for its New York office, expanding the firm's International Trade and Investment practice, the group announced. Dattu will advise “multinationals with Canadian presence” and Canadian companies on their operations in the U.S. and globally.

The American Iron and Steel Institute's board on May 25 elected Nucor Corp. CEO Leon Topalian to serve as chairman of AISI for a two-year term.

The Semiconductor Industry Association hired Meghan Biery, previously the senior national security policy adviser at the Bureau of Industry and Security, as director of global technology and security policy, the SIA said in a May 24 news release. “A seasoned policy practitioner with high-level experience in technology security, export control, and related issues, Meghan Biery will be a strong and capable advocate for our industry’s interests in Washington and around the world," SIA CEO John Neuffer said.