Lobbying world

Amazon.com Inc. hired Mattie Duppler as manager for public policy. She previously was president of Forward Strategies for three years and before that was coalitions director for the House Republican Conference and director of budget and regulatory affairs at Americans for Tax Reform.

Richard Verma joined Mastercard Inc. as executive vice president of global public policy and regulatory affairs. He previously was vice chair and partner at The Asia Group and was U.S. ambassador to India from 2014 to 2017.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP named Reginald Brown a partner in its Washington office. He previously was chairman of WilmerHale’s Financial Institutions Group and led the firm’s congressional investigations practice. Before that, he was associate White House counsel and special assistant to the president during the George W. Bush administration.

Brendan Neal announced the launch of Neal Strategies, a firm specializing in public policy strategic communications and government relations. He previously was director of U.S. public affairs at TC Energy Corp. and before that was regional director for ex-Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). He also was deputy finance director for Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004.

The Electronic Transactions Association hired Max Behlke as director of state government affairs. He previously was director of state public policy at Consumer Electronics for nearly two years and before that was director of budget and tax policy at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Stephanie Marrs is now director of public affairs at Targeted Victory. She previously was social media manager at the National Federation of Independent Business, where she worked for nearly four years. Before that, she was digital director to Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).

Laura Brounstein is now the head of content and storytelling at CLEAR, a technology company that stores personal information to allow air travelers to bypass the travel document checker at security checkpoints. She previously was a content strategist for President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign and before that was vice president of content and campaigns at WeWork.