Lobbying world

Ford Motor Corp. hired Christopher Smith as chief government affairs officer. Smith most recently was senior vice president of policy, government and public affairs at Cheniere Energy and previously served as assistant secretary for fossil energy at the Department of Energy in the Obama administration.

Elizabeth Baker Keffer joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as chief relationship officer and executive vice president. She most recently was partner and chief network officer for merchant bank BDT & Co. The Chamber also hired marketing consultant Melissa Lentz as head of member marketing.

The Vogel Group hired Brad Howard as a principal. Howard most recently served as chief of staff to Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), chief deputy whip and co-chair of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition. 

Jamie Smith, a senior adviser at WestExec Advisors, launched her own consulting firm, Smith & Partners LLC. Smith previously served as spokesperson and deputy White House press secretary under former President Obama.

Meghan DiMuzio joined Anheuser-Busch as senior director of corporate reputation. DiMuzio most recently was senior vice president at Forbes Tate Partners and executive director of the Coalition for App Fairness.

The Chamber of Progress hired Jamie Pascal as director of civic innovation policy. Pascal most recently was legislative affairs specialist at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and previously was director of policy and programs at the African American Mayors Association.

Hogan Lovells government relations partner Ivan Zapien joined the board of directors at philanthropic investment organization Venture Philanthropy Partners + Raise DC. Prior to his time as a lobbyist, Zapien was chief of staff to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.).