WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Retail Federation announced today that Stephanie Martz, a former White House and congressional attorney and partner at one of Washington’s top lobbying firms, will join the organization in September as senior vice president and general counsel. Martz will succeed retiring SVP and General Counsel Mallory Duncan.
“NRF is extraordinarily fortunate to have Stephanie joining our team,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Her experience in the White House, on Capitol Hill, at the Chamber of Commerce and in the courts gives the NRF and our members a level of expertise that will allow us to continue representing the retail industry at a level that is second to none. Whether legislation, policy or litigation, Stephanie’s track record of success speaks for itself and NRF will greatly benefit as a result of it.”
“There are a number of issues facing our industry that require a sharp legal mind to represent the interests of our members,” Shay said. “Stephanie has worked with a number of corporate counsels throughout her career, and whether the issue is swipe fees or data security, I am confident that Stephanie will build on Mallory’s legacy of inclusion and success in fighting for our industry.”
“I am excited to be joining the NRF and the opportunity it presents to work with some of the nation’s largest retailers,” Martz said. “I truly believe that this is a unique opportunity to work with a growing organization that is interested in a wide range of cutting-edge legal and policy issues — the issues which impact the retail industry, its employees and the millions of customers that retailers serve every day.”
As a partner at Monument Policy Group since 2015, Martz is a well-known expert on technology and new economy issues, with a range of clients from Silicon Valley to Seattle, Fortune 500 companies, industry groups and other businesses. Her areas of focus have included data privacy, cybersecurity, international data agreements and immigration. Prior to that, she was special assistant and senior counsel to President Barack Obama. In that capacity, she was the senior lawyer in charge of in-house counsel functions in the Office of White House Counsel and was also responsible for input on key policy matters.
Previously, Martz served as chief counsel to Senator Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who is now the Senate minority leader. In that position, she provided political and legal analysis, drafted and reviewed legislation and formulated political strategy on a wide array of matters before the Senate. Other experience includes serving as a senior director at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, litigation counsel at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, practice at two Washington law firms — Mayer Brown LLP and Miller, Cassidy, Larroca and Lewin LLP — and law clerk at both the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Martz is a graduate of Georgetown University and Stanford Law School, where she served as executive editor of the Stanford Law Review.
Duncan, who has been general counsel at NRF since 1994, announced last week that he will retire at the end of August.
NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is the nation’s largest private sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs — 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy.
