Promotions of ACC Board Members and Other In-house Hires

Cummins promotes Sharon Barner as chief administrative officer 

ACC Board Member Sharon Barner will be the new chief administrative officer of Cummins Inc. Cummins promoted Barner from her previous position as general counsel, which she has held for nine years. The move, to be finalized in April, will mark another stride in major legal names taking on C-level roles outside the legal department.  

PBGC hires Russ Dempsey as GC 

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation hired former ACC Board Member Russ Dempsey as its new general counsel. Dempsey has spent the last four and a half years as general counsel for the American International Group Life and Retirement business. Previously, he worked as the senior vice president and chief legal officer for United Retirement Plan Consultants. In total, Dempsey has spent 20 years in leadership and in-house counsel. 

Facebook adds Henry Moniz as chief ethics officer 

As Facebook Inc. faces new legal challenges from the federal government, it adds a chief ethics and compliance officer to its team, choosing Henry Moniz for the role. Moniz joined Facebook officially on Feb. 8. His last position was at ViacomCBS Inc.  where he was tapped to be chief compliance officer. His move to Facebook makes him the third high-ranking lawyer to leave the newly merged ViacomCBS. 

General Counsel Oath author new GC of Entain 

Simon Zinger will assume a new role as general counsel of European sports betting company Entain. Zinger will be Entain’s first general counsel. Zinger is best known for his 18 years at Dentsu Aegis Network and for writing the General Counsel Oath. Zinger likens the General Counsel Oath to the Hippocratic Oath all doctors take at the start of their career: a promise and reminder of professional conduct. ACC endorses the General Counsel Oath. 

NPR announces Elizabeth Allen as CLO 

National Public Radio (NPR) announced Elizabeth Allen as the new chief legal officer in late January. Allen moves to NPR after her previous company, Gannett Co. Inc. was purchased by New Media Investment Group last April. Allen served as general counsel at Gannett. She began her new role on Feb. 16. 

Oxford Nanopore appoints Jordan Herman as GC 

Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd. appoints Jordan Herman as its first general counsel. Oxford Nanopore received a sharp increase in business over the last year as a developer of a rapid test for COVID-19 and has since hired their first general counsel in response to their risen popularity. Herman makes the move from the firm Baker Botts where he spent more than 22 years. 

BarkBox and Petco fill legal roles 

Matthew Miller assumes a new role as general counsel for dog toys and treats subscription service BarkBox Inc., and Petco Health and Wellness confirms Ilene Eskenazi as their new chief legal officer. Miller’s previous experience includes founding a self-named law firm and general counsel for cannabis company Green Thumb. Eskenazi comes to Petco from the surf wear company Boardriders in California. 

CareTrust announces James Callister as GC 

CareTrust REIT, Inc. announced James Callister as general counsel and secretary. Callister served as partner at Sherry Meyerhoff Hanson & Crance LLP since 2012 as a real estate and healthcare attorney. He previously worked as assistant general counsel at Shea Properties.

Catalyte hires Marque Chambliss as CLO 

Tech and engineering talent company Catalyte welcomed Marque Chambliss as chief legal officer. Chambliss comes to Catalyte from data company Cloudera, where he served as legal director for nearly five years following a stint as a solo practitioner. His expertise is in technology licensing, intellectual property, and artificial intelligence, among other things.  

Obatala Sciences names Michael Landry as GC 

Michael Landry joins biotech company Obatala Sciences as general counsel. Prior to Obatala, Landry was a consultant at the New Orleans BioInnovation Center where he advised various medicinal companies on how to start and grow their businesses. One of the start-ups he advised at BioInnovation was Obatala.