John Rustin will head a business advocacy group.

The Gastonia native, 42, will leave a position with the N.C. Family Policy Council to head the N.C. Free Enterprise Foundation, the successor to the now-defunct N.C. FREE.

"It will be providing similar information and services to N.C. Free, but the board of directors will have some other thoughts about new programs and services," he said. "That's kind of a work in progress." 

After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1989, Rustin worked in state lobbying. From 1994 to 1997, he lobbied for companies such as General Electric and Abbott Laboratories at Hunton and Williams in Raleigh.

Since 1997, he has worked at the Family Policy Council, serving as director of government relations and vice president.  

Update and Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly referred to the N.C. Free Enterprise Foundation as a lobbying group. It does not lobby.

In a press release today, the group also announced that James A. Rouse III will become chairman of the board of directors.

Rouse is director of government affairs for the N.C. Association of Electric Cooperatives.

Janet Cowell has named her senior staff.

The new state treasurer announced her top aides, including some faces familiar from the campaign trail and state politics.

* Special Assistant: Nick Byrne, deputy finance director for Cowell's campaign and former aide to state Sen. David Hoyle.

* Spokeswoman/Policy Advisor: Kerra Bolton, former newspaper reporter and spokeswoman for the N.C. Democratic Party.

* Chief of Staff: Ron Ottavio, retired Washovia employee and former acting president of the N.C. Free Enterprise Foundation.

* Legislative Liaison: Anthony Solari, former policy analyst for the state's Smart Start program.

* General Counsel/Senior Policy Advisor: Jay Chaudhuri, former special counsel to Attorney General Roy Cooper.