Cassandra Walker Pye Cassandra Walker Pye, senior vice president in APCO Worldwide’s Sacramento office, counsels senior executives and political professionals on corporate positioning, market entry and crisis communication. For more than two dozen years, she has advocated for business interests across diverse industry sectors on a broad range of policy issues, including food retailing, labor relations, environmental responsibility and lawsuit abuse. In 2007, she successfully led the public relations and communication team for the United Kingdom’s largest food retailer to help it introduce one its store brands to the Western states. Her extensive network of relationships with leaders in the business and labor communities, as well as state and local government, helps clients achieve their business and political objectives. Prior to joining APCO in 2005, Ms. Pye was deputy chief of staff to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and served on his historic post-recall election transition team. Previously, she was vice president of corporate affairs and political director for the California Chamber of Commerce, where she headed several candidate- and issue-focused political action committees. Ms. Pye also served as director of public affairs for the California Retailers Association, director of governmental relations for the California Grocers Association and state relations manager for the Food Marketing Institute. She is a trustee of the University of California, Davis Foundation and of the California Legislative Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism Foundation. She serves on the board of directors for the California Museum for Women, History and the Arts and is a senior fellow of the Mountain Valley Chapter of the American Leadership Forum. Ms. Pye graduated from The George Washington University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Theory.