Global Trade and Public Policy Business Executive Devry Boughner Vorwerk Joins Akin Gump
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(Washington, D.C.) – Devry Boughner Vorwerk, an experienced trade and investment policy professional who served as vice president of corporate affairs at Cargill, Incorporated, has joined Akin Gump as a senior advisor in the firm’s public law and policy practice. Ms. Vorwerk will reside in Akin Gump’s Washington, D.C. office.
At Cargill, Ms. Vorwerk most recently led the company’s International Business Relations team and the Latin America Corporate Affairs team, which included oversight for government relations, communications and corporate responsibility work across the region. She is also steeped in Asia-Pacific affairs, having spent eight years working for Cargill’s businesses in that region.
Ms. Vorwerk is a well-known leader in the global trade community and has spearheaded advocacy efforts around a number of critical trade issues, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership. She currently chairs a coalition working to normalize trade relations between the United States and Cuba. She was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2014.
At Akin Gump, Ms. Vorwerk will work closely with members of the firm’s trade policy and Cuba policy teams to assist clients who currently have business dealings in, or who are considering expansion into, Cuba and the broader Latin American market.
“Devry is a respected and accomplished professional with the public policy background and business acumen needed to play a critical role for our clients,” said Donald R. Pongrace, head of Akin Gump’s public law and policy practice. “With her deep ties throughout the trade policy and international relations communities, coupled with her extensive work in the private sector, she will be instrumental in addressing the needs of clients with dealings around the globe.”
Added Ms. Vorwerk, “Akin Gump has a long history of counseling clients on business-critical trade and investment issues. I’m thrilled to be joining such an established and respected team and look forward to helping clients navigate the complex global business environment. Now, more than ever, businesses require extensive government affairs and stakeholder engagement strategies to succeed in the global marketplace.”
About Devry Boughner Vorwerk
Ms. Vorwerk joined Cargill in 2004 as director of international business relations. For eight years, her work focused on the company’s Asia-Pacific trade and investment portfolio, which included assignments in India and China. In 2011, Vorwerk shifted to overseeing Corporate Affairs Latin America and the International Business Relations Team.
Prior to Cargill, Ms. Vorwerk worked in the U.S. International Trade Commission’s Office of Industries and as an economic advisor to the chairman. She also served as a senior economist in Agricultural Affairs at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, which is part of the Executive Office of the President.
Ms. Vorwerk has an M.S. in agricultural economics, with a specialization in public policy and international trade, from Cornell University. She holds dual B.S. degrees in agricultural economics and managerial economics from the University of California, Davis.
About Akin Gump’s International Trade Policy Practice
Akin Gump’s international trade policy practice operates at the intersection of trade law and public policy to overcome the challenges and exploit the opportunities present in the increasingly complex and fiercely competitive global marketplace. Our lawyers and advisors collaborate to provide legal and policy advice, as well as foreign and domestic government affairs advocacy, to clients negotiating the maze of global, regional and bilateral rules of commerce and investment.
About Akin Gump’s Cuba Policy Initiative
Akin Gump has extensive experience assisting companies with market entry into Cuba, as well as relevant experience in connection with the relaxing of other sanctions programs that have generated similar commercial opportunities. In this capacity, we assist on anticipating, adapting to, and profiting from recent and further transformation of Cuba’s rapidly changing business and political landscape.
Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
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