FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez Names Senior Staff

Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez has named seven senior staff members with extensive experience in consumer protection and antitrust law.

“I am very pleased to have such a strong leadership team at the FTC,” Ramirez said. “Their knowledge and experience will help keep the FTC at the forefront in promoting competition and protecting American consumers.”

Deborah L. Feinstein, who will serve as Director of the Bureau of Competition, joins the agency from Arnold & Porter, where she was a partner and Chair of the Antitrust Practice Group, with a focus on merger and acquisition matters, and conduct investigations.  Among many accolades bestowed upon Feinstein, Global Competition Review named her global “Lawyer of the Year” for 2010.  Feinstein began her career at Arnold & Porter and joined the FTC in 1989. She served as an Assistant to former Bureau of Competition Director Kevin Arquit and as an Attorney Advisor to former Commissioner Dennis Yao.  She is an honors graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of California at Berkeley.

Jessica Rich has been appointed Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, having served as Associate Director in charge of the Division of Financial Practices since January 2012.   Rich was a Deputy Director of the Bureau from November 2009 to January 2012.  In addition, she has served as the Acting Associate Director and Assistant Director of the Bureau’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Assistant Director in the Division of Financial Practices, and counselor to the Bureau Director.  She joined the FTC as a staff attorney more than 20 years ago, after starting her career in private practice in New York City.  She is a graduate of New York University Law School and Harvard University.

Jonathan E. Nuechterlein will serve as General Counsel.  He joins the agency from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr, where he was a partner and Chair of the Communications, Privacy, and Internet Law Practice Group.  He previously was Deputy General Counsel for the Federal Communications Commission and an Assistant to the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice.  Nuechterlein also clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Stephen F. Williams.  He is a graduate of Yale Law School and Yale College.

Andrew I. Gavil will continue as Director of Policy Planning, having joined the Commission in September 2012.   A professor at Howard University School of Law, he has written and spoken extensively in the U.S. and abroad on various aspects of antitrust law, policy, jurisdiction, and procedure.  He is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law and Queens College, CUNY.

Randolph W. Tritell will continue as Director of the Office of International Affairs, previously having led the FTC’s International Antitrust Division.  He was formerly a staff attorney in the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Assistant to the Director of the Bureau, Attorney Advisor to former Commissioner Terry Calvani, and Executive Assistant to the Chairman. A former Weil, Gotshal & Manges partner, Tritell is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and an honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Jeanne Bumpus will continue to serve as Director of the Office of Congressional Relations.  She previously was a principal advisor to Arizona Senator John McCain and served as Staff Director and Chief Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.  Bumpus was formerly Legislative Counsel to Washington State Senator Slade Gorton.  She is a graduate of the University of California Berkeley School of Law and the University of California, San Diego.

Heather Hippsley serves as Chief of Staff to the Chairwoman.  Before starting her new role, Hippsley was Assistant Director for the Division of Advertising Practices for more than 10 years.  She previously has served as Acting Deputy Director for the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Acting Associate Director for the Division of Advertising Practices, Assistant Director in the Division of Enforcement, and an Attorney Advisor to former FTC Commissioners Dennis A. Yao and Andrew J. Strenio, Jr.  Hippsley is an honors graduate of Lewis and Clark School of Law and Georgetown University.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them.  To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call
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