Clete Willems, a former National Security Council official and Akin Gump trade lawyer, is joining Netflix as its chief global affairs officer, he said on LinkedIn. Willems served in the first Trump administration as a senior international economics official and sherpa to the Group of 7 and Group of 20.

Matt Borman, who left the government earlier this year after more than two decades at the Bureau of Industry and Security (see 2502240003), has joined the Center for Strategic and International Studies as a non-resident senior technical expert. CSIS said Borman will "lead the technical expertise of" the think tank's Economic Security and Technology Department. Borman was most recently the BIS principal deputy assistant secretary for export administration.

Laura Black, former director of policy and international relations for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., has joined White & Case as partner in the global trade and foreign direct investment reviews practice, the firm announced. Black joins from Akin Gump, where she worked as senior counsel since 2022. Black worked at CFIUS from 2018 to 2022.

Sara McNaughton, a former policy adviser for the Bureau of Industry and Security's assistant secretary for export administration, has joined advisory firm Beacon Global Strategies, the firm announced on LinkedIn. At BIS, McNaughton worked on “advanced technology policy, Middle East affairs, and stakeholder engagement,” her biography says.

Michael Pender, a longtime senior engineer with the Bureau of Industry and Security, is retiring from government April 30, he announced on LinkedIn. He works in the Office of National Security and Technology Transfer Controls, where he said he helps to review dual-use exports, with a focus on items containing advanced encryption features or related to information security. Pender has worked at BIS for more than two decades.

Ross Kennedy, founder of advisory firm Fortis Analysis, has joined the Bureau of Industry and Security as a senior adviser, he announced this week on LinkedIn. Kennedy said his "primary focus will be on supporting exceptional agents, analysts, and colleagues in the Office of Export Enforcement, a law enforcement agency staffed by quiet, diligent, dedicated professionals and which sits at the nexus of national security and advanced technologies, data, and products."

Ken Wainstein, a former U.S. national security prosecutor and intelligence official, has joined Mayer Brown as a lawyer advising on export controls, sanctions, foreign direct investment and other national security enforcement issues. Wainstein was most recently the DHS undersecretary for intelligence and analysis.

Longtime Bureau of Industry and Security officials Hillary Hess, Sheila Quarterman and Carlos Monroy soon will retire from the agency, multiple people familiar with the matter said.

Jeffrey Kessler, the undersecretary of the Bureau of Industry and Security, has been sworn in to his new position, the Commerce Department announced March 20. Kessler was confirmed by the Senate March 13 (see 2503130062 and 2503060043).

Paul Newman, former chief of the Census Bureau's Trade Data Collection Branch, recently retired from government, a Commerce Department official said during an annual Bureau of Industry and Security conference this week.