HP Hires New Government Affairs Chief

Hewlett-Packard announced that it has hired Gregg Melinson to head the firm's government affairs efforts. Melinson will succeed Larry Irving as vice president of global government affairs and also will take on a new role as deputy general counsel. Unlike Irving, who was based out of Washington, Melinson will primarily work out of Hewlett-Packard's Palo Alto (CA) headquarters. Melinson, who starts his new gig on Sept. 19, has spent much of the last 20 years at Drinker Biddle & Reath and currently works out of the firm's Philadelphia office. He briefly left the law firm in the mid-1990s to serve as deputy general counsel to then-Gov. Tom Ridge (R-PA).