ZTE USA announced the appointment of Angela Simpson as vice president, US Government Affairs. She will be based in Washington, DC and have responsibility for managing all of the company’s government relations and public policy matters in the US.
The role will involve various legislative and regulatory initiatives and advocating before federal agencies and Congressional offices about public policy issues potentially impacting the company.
Simpson was previously Deputy Assistant Secretary for the US Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, where she also held roles as Acting Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the Office of the Assistant Secretary. Prior to working at the US government's lead telecom agency, she was Director of Government Affairs for Covad Communications in Washington.
The appointment comes as ZTE is looking to expand its share of the US smartphone market and put behind it the fines paid earlier this year for violating US sanctions against Iran. In March the Chinese company agreed to pay nearly USD 900 million in penalties and adhere to new export control and compliance checks in order to settle the case with the US.
