Rick Kaplan, former Wireless Bureau chief, who also oversaw Verizon-cable operator advanced wireless service transactions, had his last day at the FCC Friday … Christine Goepp leaving Fletcher Heald, where she’s an associate communications regulatory lawyer, to join Audio Division of FCC Media Bureau as attorney-adviser, effective Monday … Inmarsat hires Michele Franci, ex-SES, as vice president-commercial, Global Xpress satellite broadband service.
Univision Communications hires Christopher Furst, ex-NBCUniversal, as executive vice president and chief information officer, new position …Synacor hires Patrick Knorr, ex-Sunflower Broadband and American Cable Association board member, as general manager-regional accounts.
Suddenlink Communications hires Gregg Graff, ex-Insight Communications, as senior vice president of sales … NBCUniversal’s Oxygen Media hires Roger Guillen, ex-2012 London Olympics, as senior vice president, creative director … News Corp. nominates Elaine Chao, ex-U.S. labor secretary, and Álvaro Uribe, ex-president of Colombia, to join board.
Texas Association of Broadcasters President Ann Arnold, 67, died Saturday. She had leukemia. During her 25-year tenure at TAB, she became an expert on the emergency alert system, and in 2005 was president of the National Alliance of State Broadcast Associations. Arnold was the first female press secretary to a Texas governor, Mark White (D), in the 1980’s and before that was a newspaper and wire service reporter. Two sons and a sister survive.
Cox Enterprises hires Leigh Scott, ex-Deloitte Tax, as senior vice president of family office and real estate … Wilkinson Barker hires Nancy Libin, Justice Department chief privacy and civil liberties officer, as partner, effective Oct. 1 … Connect2Compete hires Zach Leverenz, ex-Middle East Education through Technology, as first CEO.
Arbitron Chief Operating Officer Sean Creamer joins board … Nickelodeon promotes Russell Hicks to president-content development and production, Nickelodeon Group.
Arbitron names Manish Bhatia, ex-Symphony Advanced Media, to newly created position of executive vice president-new product innovation.
David Carson, ex-U.S. Copyright Office, joins International Federation of the Phonographic Industry as head of global legal policy, effective Sept. 24 … Andrew Kubitz, ex-CBS-TV, becomes ABC Entertainment Group executive vice president-program planning & scheduling … Consumers Union Policy Counsel Parul Desai leaving group effective Aug. 31 to become attorney-adviser in FCC Media Bureau Audio Division … Dana Frix, whose practice includes FCC and FTC, named managing partner of the Washington office of Chadbourne & Parke … Lobbyist Registrations: Application Developers Alliance, SPQR Strategies, effective Aug. 1.
Discovery Communications names Todd Davis, ex-Ernst & Young, executive vice president-global tax, effective Sept. 1 … Johnny Chiu, ex-Covington & Burling, joins Morrison & Foerster as partner in intellectual property practice … Media Storm promotes Jill Rosenbaum to managing director of its new Los Angeles office … Entropic Communications names Vahid Manian, ex-Global Semiconductor Alliance, senior vice president-global operations … Mitel names Martyn Etherington, ex-IBM, chief marketing officer.
Fisher Communications promotes David Praga to vice president; he remains general manager of Fisher’s KIMA-TV/KEPR-TV/KUNW-TV/CW9, Yakima/Tri-Cities, Wash., and KLEW-TV, Lewiston, Idaho … Lobbyist Registrations: FairSearch.org, Mercury/Clark & Weinstock, effective July 16.