GC Appointments

Syracuse University named Dickens “Deke” Mathieu senior vice president and general counsel. Mathieu is currently senior legal counsel at Tufts University. He previously served as a U.S. attorney at the Department of Justice and worked in the labor and employment practice of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. He replaces outgoing Syracuse GC Thomas Evans, who will retire June 30.


Ira Parker was appointed executive vice president and general counsel of Catalina Marketing. Parker joins the company from Zink Imaging Inc., where he was co-CEO and president. He previously was the executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for AOL Inc. His prior work experience also includes stints at Polaroid Corp.—where he served as GC—Genuity, GTE Internetworking and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Information and analytics provider Neustar Inc. named Leonard Kennedy senior vice president and general counsel. Kennedy most recently served as the senior advisor to the director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where he previously was associate director and general counsel. He also has in-house experience, having previously served as the senior vice president and general counsel of SprintNextel Corp.


Maura Abeln Smith is now executive vice president, general counsel and general secretary of Delhaize Group, a Belgium-based international food retailer. Over her 30-year career, Smith has occupied the GC spot at companies including PepsiCo Inc., International Paper Co., Owens Corning Corp. and General Electric Co.'s Plastics Division.

Law Firm News

Peter Reyes joined Barnes & Thornburg as a partner in the firm's intellectual property department. Reyes previously was a senior intellectual property lawyer at Cargill Inc., where he served as the company's regional intellectual property coordinator for Latin America from 2005 to 2008.

Jones Walker hired former General Electric Co. attorney John Fletcher as a partner in its tax and estates practice group. At GE, Fletcher oversaw many of the company's income and franchise tax audits as state tax counsel. He previously was a member of KPMG's state and local tax practice. He also will serve as a member of Jones Walker's state and local tax (SALT) team.