Lobbying World

• J.B. Simko has been promoted to vice president of external affairs at Philip Morris International and will relocate from New York City to head the Washington, D.C., office. Aaron Sherinian, who has been vice president of global communications transformation in Paris, will relocate to work in the D.C. office as well.

• Dean Cannon, executive vice president and chair man of GrayRobinson’s government affairs practice, will be president and managing director, effective Sept. 1. Cannon will succeed Mayanne Downs as she refocuses on her litigation practice at the firm.

• Quincy Enoch will join Invariant on Monday. He previously was the lead Democrat at the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, where he designed and implemented strategies on behalf of the association’s membership.

• The District Policy Group, which is housed within law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, appointed Sarah Mills to vice president. Mills joined the District Policy Group as a senior government relations manager in 2016.

• Patrick Robertson left FTI Consulting, where he was managing director, to start his own lobbying shop, Confluence Government Relations. It will focus on tax and energy work. Robertson was a partner at C2Group prior to FTI, and before that was deputy to the chief of staff to former Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.).

• Steven Blattner, legislative assistant to Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), is leaving to join Becker & Poliakoff. 

• The National Council of Jewish Women hired Sheila Katz as its new CEO. She will join the council this summer after 12 years with Hillel International, where she was the organization’s youngest vice president.

• Manatt, Phelps & Phillips announced that Suzanne Rich Folsom has joined as a partner in their government and regulatory group in the D.C. office. She was general counsel, chief compliance officer and senior vice president of government affairs at the United States Steel Corporation.