One of our favorite news-spies dropped us a copy of an internal memo issued by FAA Administrator Marion Blakey, announcing the appointment of a new Chief of Staff for the FAA, included below.

Blakey Memo Announcing O'Malley Appointment

It is with great pleasure that I welcome Michael O'Malley, who is replacing David Mandell as the FAA's new Chief of Staff.
 
Mike comes to us from the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, where he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy. There, he coordinated security policy issues for every facet of our nation's transportation network. He was also instrumental in the development of a National Strategy for Transportation Security, a first-of-its-kind blueprint for protecting America's critical transportation assets. Internationally, he was responsible for laying the groundwork for many of our successful Open Skies accords with other nations.
 
Prior to that position, Mike served for nearly three years as Counselor to the Under Secretary for Policy, where he played an integral role in finding answers to our most pressing transportation challenges.

Before coming to the Department of Transportation, he was a government relations advisor at the legal firm of Shaw Pittman LLP, where he worked from April 2000 to August 2002. He provided strategic advice to clients on a range of policy areas, including international trade, agriculture, and transportation.
 
From January 1999 to March 2000, Mike was a senior associate at the International Trade Services Corporation in Washington, D.C., providing consulting services to U.S.-based multinationals and trade associations.
 
Prior to that, he was a Washington-based legislative assistant to the Governor of Illinois from April 1998 through January 1999. He acted as the state's federal liaison for transportation, science & technology, and defense issues.
He spent a year overseas in the mid-1990s as a graduate resident at the London-based Institute for Study Abroad at Butler University.
 
Mike holds a master's degree in European studies from the London School of Economics and bachelor?s degree in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
 
We're fortunate to have someone of Mike O'Malley's talents on board to help us lead the way.
 
As we say hello to our new chief of staff, we are saddened to say goodbye to David Mandell, who has decided to join his close friends in a private business venture unrelated to transportation. As many of you know, David was at the heart of many of our new programs and activities, whether it was developing and institutionalizing the agency's Flight Plan, instigating and developing a new internal communications program, or pushing for further workforce development. David is a smart strategist, excellent manager, and a good colleague to many here. We wish him well in his new endeavor and thank him for his service to the FAA.

FMI: www.faa.gov