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.

Brad Brooks-Rubin, the State Department’s former sanctions policy lead for sub-Saharan Africa, Myanmar and natural resources issues, left the agency last week, he announced on LinkedIn. Brooks-Rubin had worked in the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination since June 2022.

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.

Drew Jones, a former intelligence operations specialist with the State Department, began a new role with the agency this month as a foreign affairs officer in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation’s Office of Critical Technology Protection, he announced on LinkedIn. The office creates foreign policy to "protect U.S. critical technologies and to counter the malign influence and destabilizing behavior of competitive powers," according to its mission statement. Jones has worked at the State Department since 2019.

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.

John Austerman, a former Pentagon official, is starting a new job as a division chief with the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, he announced last week on LinkedIn. The bureau oversees the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, the agency responsible for implementing and enforcing the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Austerman most recently worked for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.

Virginia Lenahan was named the chief international trade counsel on the Senate Finance Committee’s majority staff, committee Chair Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced in an Oct. 3 emailed news release. Since joining the committee in 2019 as a trade counsel, Lenahan has worked on issues related to USMCA, the Inflation Reduction Act and more.

Paul Ledet has joined U.S. semiconductor company AMD as its director of trade compliance, he announced on LinkedIn. Ledet previously helped oversee trade compliance and classification for National Instruments.