Chairman Announces Appointments and Promotions

Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras today announced several appointments and promotions in recent months in the Bureau of Competition, the Bureau of Consumer Protection, and the Office of the General Counsel.

In the Bureau of Competition:

• Suzanne Michel has been promoted to Assistant Director of the Office of Policy and Coordination, having served previously as Deputy Assistant Director. She has played a critical role in intellectual property and IP/antitrust issues that arise in the agency's enforcement and policy initiatives, earning the FTC’s Paul Rand Dixon award for that work in 2002.
• James Mongoven has been promoted to Deputy Assistant Director of the Office of Policy and Coordination. For several years, he has played a critical role in addressing numerous complex policy issues within the Bureau, including matters involving the energy industry.
• Norman Armstrong has been appointed Counsel to the Director. He served previously as a staff attorney in the Mergers I Division, and has worked on merger investigations in several industries, including defense, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, energy, and consumer goods.
• Sarah Friedman also has been appointed Counsel to the Director. Formerly a staff attorney in the Mergers IV Division, she has worked on merger investigations involving the hospital, retail, and casinos industries.

In the Bureau of Consumer Protection:

• Patricia F. Bak has been appointed Counsel to the Director, having served previously as an attorney in the Enforcement Division, investigating and prosecuting deceptive advertising and unfair trade practices cases.
• Thomas B. Pahl has been appointed Assistant Director in the Division of Financial Practices. He served previously as an Attorney Advisor for Commissioners Mary Azcuenaga and Orson Swindle, and as an Assistant Director in the Division of
  Advertising Practices. Most recently he has been on a detail to the Bureau Director’s
  office to work on the Tech-ade hearings project.

In the Office of the General Counsel:

• Karen Grimm has been appointed Assistant General Counsel for Policy Studies. She comes to the agency from a partnership in Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, where she had an extensive antitrust practice, specializing in ATM and other payment system networks.
• Shira Pavis Minton has been promoted to Assistant General Counsel for Ethics. She has worked in the Office of the General Counsel, where she helped run the agency’s Ethics Program, addressed questions regarding immigration, employment, and other areas of law, and handled significant assignments such as preparing the FTC’s Annual Report.