Michael Hanson, the vice president of government relations at J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) responsible for advocating for the company on legislative and regulatory issues has been appointed as chairman of the National Retail Federation (NRF) Policy Council.
As chairman of the NRF Policy Council, Hanson’s responsibility is similar to his role at J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP). The NRF Policy Council is responsible for establishing the policy positions and strategies of the organization regarding federal and regulatory issues. The NRF is the largest trade association worldwide.
Current NRF Policy Council chairman retires
Hanson will succeed the current chairman of the NRF Policy Council, Richard Cohen who will be retiring from his position. Cohen is the group vice president for law and legislative affairs at Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M). He announced his decision to retire as chairman of the council last year.
Prior to joining J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) in 2012, Hanson was a partner at C2 Group, a government affairs consulting firm based in Washington D.C. He also served at the office of Texas Representative Sam Johnson for a decade.
NRF announced Hanson’s appointment when the members of the policy council held a meeting in Washington D.C. this week. The NRF Policy Council met to discuss several issues including data security legislation, patent litigation reform, and online sales tax fairness.
J.C. Penney Mike Ullman serves NRF Board
Mike Ullman, the chief executive officer of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) is a member of the board of NRF. He was elected to the board of the federation in January.
The current chairman of the board of NRF is Stephen I. Sadove. He also serves as the chairman of the executive committee of the federation. Sadove previously served as chairman and CEO of Saks Inc (NYSE:SKS).
NRF supports transition to PIN and Chip cards to protect consumer data
In January, the NRF sent a letter to the leaders of the United States Congress outlining the commitment of the retail industry in protecting sensitive consumer data amid the recent international cyber stacks and thefts.
NRF president and CEO Mathew Shay wrote, “The National Retail Federation and our 12,000 members are committed to combating this criminal threat to our industry and our customers, and we strongly recommend the adoption of meaningful steps to fight cyber theft and credit card fraud.”
The federation supports the immediate transition from magnetic stripe cards to more secure PIN and CHIP cards to provide better protection to consumers’ data from theft, hacking and skimming. The NRF noted that the PIN and CHIP cards are widely used in more than 80 countries across Asia, Africa, and the European region.
