Sally Laing, former chief international trade counsel for Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and the Senate Finance Committee, returned to Akin, the firm announced. Laing rejoined the firm as an international trade partner after working in the Senate and also as assistant general counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. She started her career as a summer associate, international trade associate and counsel at Akin.

Trade compliance firm Besso hired Michiel Kalverkamp, Amazon's former head of global trade services for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as its chief customer officer, the company announced in an email. Switzerland-based Besso uses AI to address global trade compliance issues.

Matt Cronin, former chief investigative counsel for the House Select Committee on China, has joined venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz as a senior national security adviser, he announced on LinkedIn. He left his job on Capitol Hill earlier this month (2410160022).

U.S. aerospace firm RTX tapped senior counsel Lara Covington to head the company’s compliance with the deferred prosecution agreements announced last week with DOJ and the SEC, Covington announced on LinkedIn. Covington’s official title will be the executive director of the RTX DPA Compliance Program Office, where she will help “ensure the company successfully meets its obligations” to both agencies, she wrote in her bio. RTX will pay close to $1 billion and agreed to a range of compliance commitments to resolve allegations that it committed violations of defense export control regulations, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and more (see 2410160058).

Diego Ortega, former sanctions regulations adviser at the Office of Foreign Assets Control, has joined Faegre Drinker as a government and regulatory counsel, the firm announced. Ortega worked for over three years at OFAC, where he drafted and published regulations implementing U.S. sanctions authorities and general licenses.

Matt Cronin, chief investigative counsel for the House Select Committee on China, is leaving Congress for a job in the private sector, he announced on LinkedIn this week. Cronin began working for the committee in July 2023.

Meen Geu Oh, former DOJ senior trial counsel, has joined Dutch conglomerate Philips as senior counsel, Oh announced on LinkedIn. Oh worked at DOJ for over 11 years, including on international trade cases, among other matters. At Philips, Oh said, he will be working on a "broad range of contract and compliance issues."

Trade lawyers Sebastiaan Bennink and Jan Dunin-Wasowicz launched their European law firm, Bennink Dunin-Wasowicz, to counsel on export controls, sanctions and other trade compliance issues, they announced this week. The firm has offices in Amsterdam and Paris.

Jorge Vera, former senior counsel for trade and sanctions at Boeing, has joined the Washington, D.C., office of Jacobson Burton as of counsel, the law firm announced this week. Vera will advise on international trade, sanctions compliance, transactional issues and enforcement.

Ross Denton, a U.K.-based export control, sanctions and trade lawyer, has joined Akin’s London office as a senior counsel in its international trade practice, the firm announced on LinkedIn. Ross previously worked for Van Vael & Bellis.