American Airlines today announced that Nathan J. Gatten has been named Senior Vice President – Government Affairs. In this role, Gatten will lead American’s federal and international government and regulatory affairs team and the company’s advocacy in Washington and across American’s global network.

“Nate brings the perfect blend of leadership, energy, experience and strategic thinking to this critical role,” said Steve Johnson, American’s Executive Vice President – Corporate Affairs. “Those strengths, and Nate’s ability to build relationships, have helped him deliver results for highly complex organizations facing significant public policy issues. American Airlines has built a terrific team to address the very challenging issues the airline industry faces in Washington and around the world, and we are very excited to welcome Nate. His leadership and counsel will take us to the next level.”

Gatten will play a critical role in defining the company’s government affairs priorities and the development and execution of the advocacy efforts needed to advance American’s public policy initiatives. His team will work collaboratively with American’s operations, commercial, communications and legal teams in Fort Worth, and its state and local government affairs team to drive a consistent message to elected officials, public policy makers and key influencers. Gatten will report to Johnson when he begins his new role later this summer.

Gatten joins American from JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he served as Managing Director and Head of Global Government Relations. In that role, he led government relations and policy teams globally, and served as the organization’s primary representative before Congress, the Administration and international policy-making bodies. Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase, Gatten was a partner at American Capitol Group, a boutique lobbying and public affairs consulting firm.

Before that, Gatten was Vice President of Government and Industry Relations at Fannie Mae, where he managed the team responsible for interaction with Republican members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Earlier in his career, he held progressively senior roles working for Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R-UT) and on the Senate Banking Committee. Gatten holds a B.S. from Willamette University and earned an M.B.A. from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife Annette and their four children.