LOS ANGELES—Nutrition company Herbalife has appointed Alan Hoffman to the newly established role of executive vice president of global corporate affairs reporting to Michael Johnson, Herbalife's chairman and CEO. Hoffman will lead public policy, corporate communications, government affairs, community relations and philanthropy. He currently serves as the senior vice president for global public policy at PepsiCo, and before that was deputy chief of staff to Vice President Joseph Biden and deputy assistant to President Barack Obama.

NEW YORK—FreshDirect, a leading online fresh food grocer, has named Larry Scott Blackmon vice president, community and government affairs. Blackmon joins from the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation where he served as the deputy commissioner for community outreach. Prior to the Parks Department, Blackmon served as chief of staff and deputy commissioner for intergovernmental affairs at New York City Department of Small Business Services. He also worked for the New York Jets as senior manager for public affairs.

NEW YORK--The Toy Industry Association has named Ken Seiter as vice president of strategic communications, responsible for the development, implementation and oversight of communications strategies, key messaging and brand integrity programs. Previously, Seiter served as chief marketing officer for the Specialty Food Association and before that held a variety of positions at Kraft Foods, where he ran marketing communications services for the foodservice division.

ST. LOUIS—Private sector coal company Peabody Energy has named Raymond Shepherd vice president of federal government relations to advance its public policy and regulatory interests, and Chris Curran as vice president of corporate communications. Prior to Peabody, Shepherd served as chairman of the congressional investigations practice group at Venable and also worked on Capitol Hill for 12 years as an advisor. Curran has more than 20 years of experience in corporate communications across healthcare, manufacturing, and consumer goods and services.

ATLANTA—Emory University has appointed Jerry Lewis as senior vice president for communications and public affairs. Lewis has served for the past seven years as vice president for communications at the University of Texas at Arlington and previously was vice president for communications at the University of Miami. He will be responsible for communications, government relations and community engagement, both locally and nationally.