WASHINGTON, DC—The Business Software Alliance is structuring itself in two operating units, one driving advocacy on high-priority issues ranging from intellectual property protection to privacy and security, and one focusing on combating software piracy.

Matt Reid, formerly vice president of communications, will serve as senior vice president of external affairs, a newly formed group within BSA that will align public policy, government relations, and public engagement into a coordinated and expanded global advocacy operation. The group will focus on BSA’s efforts to advance public debates on high-priority issues around the world.

Before BSA, Reid founded and ran the public affairs practice of the global communications agency Waggener Edstrom, opening its offices in Washington, DC and Brussels.

Within the new external affairs group, vice president of government relations Katherine McGuire, a 17-year Capitol Hill veteran who served as a senior legislative aide and advisor in the US Senate, will continue to drive direct engagement with policymakers, with a renewed focus on education and advocacy.