Lobbying world

David Castagnetti joined Dentons Global Advisors as a partner. He comes from Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, where he was a founding partner. Castagnetti previously served as chief of staff to former Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.). 

News Corp. hired Rachel Bissex as vice president of federal government affairs. Bissex comes from the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she served as a senior counsel to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the committee’s chairman from 2015 to 2019 who pushed for antitrust legislation to crack down on tech giants.

Three senior staffers to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) launched a new consulting firm called KED Strategies. They are Mary Dietrich, who served as Collins’s chief of staff; former legislative director Rob Epplin; and longtime communications director Kevin Kelley. 

Danielle Turnipseed joined the Association of American Medical Colleges as chief public policy officer. Turnipseed most recently was assistant director at the American Medical Association and previously served as health policy adviser to former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.). 

Dan Curran and Caroline Hegeman joined the public affairs team at McKinsey & Co. Curran comes from Boeing’s public affairs office and previously served as deputy press secretary to Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.). Hegeman most recently was a senior policy and government relations manager at Deloitte. 

Elbit America, a subsidiary of an Israeli defense firm, hired Katie Myers as government relations manager. She previously served as senior legislative assistant to Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho). 

Tobacco firm Swisher International hired Chris Howard as executive vice president of external affairs and new product compliance. Howard previously was senior vice president and general counsel at E-Alternative Solutions.