Expect members of the Senate Commerce, Finance, Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees to be named as China bill conferees (see 2203220074), Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told reporters after Wednesday’s chips hearing.
National Research Group says Grady Miller, formerly Apple TV+, rejoins the company as chief marketing officer ... Sonic Automotive says former Comcast executive Stephen Carvelli is its first chief technology officer ... Semiconductor company Onto Innovation adds Kateeva CEO May Su to its board ... Ford promotes Kiersten Robinson to general manager-Ford Blue family vehicles and president of Ford’s operations in Mexico and Canada; Jennifer Waldo hired from Apple succeeds Robinson as chief people and employee experiences officer, effective mid-May; and Christopher Smith, ex-Cheniere Energy, also former Department of Energy, joins April 4 as chief government affairs officer, succeeding Mitch Bainwol, ex-RIAA, who retired from Ford at the end of 2021 ... Educational tech company Osmo taps WarnerMedia’s Shawn Smith as its first global head-communications.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo headed to Capitol Hill Tuesday to meet with lawmakers and continue pushing for Congress to pass its China package as quickly as possible. She met with the Senate Finance Committee and held a news conference with Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Mark Warner, D-Va. “We have to decrease our dependence on other countries, and the way to do that is make more chips in America,” she said. “We need Congress to get it to the president’s desk as quickly as possible.”
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., expressed optimism Monday that Congress can begin conference negotiations on its China package before the end of the work period, as planned by Senate leadership (see 2203140059).
The Senate will need to amend the House China package with upper chamber language and send it back to the lower chamber in order to begin conferencing the two measures, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday. Calling it a procedural step, he noted a “small band of Republicans” is standing in the way of “quick action.”
Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) appoints Naomi Kuwaye, from Ashford & Wriston, to state Public Utilities Commission; if confirmed, she will replace Jay Griffin, stepping down at the end of his term, which expires on June 30 … Alexis DeJarnette, ex-Senate Commerce Committee, says she’s now public affairs officer for Axiom Space.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are negotiating to begin conference on the China package this work period, a Senate aide told us Monday (see 2203010077). The work period is scheduled to end April 8.
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners President Judith Williams Jagdmann of Virginia appointed Michigan Commissioner Tremaine Phillips to replace former Telecommunications Committee Chair Karen Charles Peterson, whose term expired … Clout Public Affairs director Evan Swarztrauber, ex-FCC, joins Lincoln Network as senior adviser-tech and telecom policy … Waze announces Yannis Simaiakis, from Via, as chief strategy and insights officer … Fabless semiconductor maker Achronix taps Marvell Technology’s Pohan Chiang as vice president-worldwide sales ... OneWeb Technologies announces former astronaut Tim Kopra as its new president ... Digital identity verification platform Mitek Systems elects ex-ID Analytics CEO Scott Carter and former RevSpring CEO Rahul Gupta to its board, replacing retiring directors Alex Hart and Bill Aulet, and hires WideOrbit’s Scott Marcus as general counsel, succeeding Jason Gray.
Senate Homeland Security Committee ranking member Rob Portman, R-Ohio, supports cyber incident reporting legislation the House passed Wednesday in its omnibus package, he told us Thursday.
The Center for Democracy & Technology names George Slover, ex-Consumer Reports, general counsel and senior counsel-competition policy … Semiconductor Industry Association hires Rina Pal-Goetzen, ex-3D printed microTec, as director-global policy … Consumer Federation of America announces Erin Witte, former Virginia assistant attorney general, as director-consumer protection, replacing Susan Grant, who becomes senior fellow.