BP has recruited Associated Press national political editor Liz Sidoti to head its U.S. communications.
The hires comes three months after the energy giant reorganized its PR operation under former journalist and Pentagon public affairs staffer Geoff Morrell, who previous held the head of U.S. communications slot for BP.
Sidoti, who joins Dec. 31, exits the AP after 14 years, first as a Cincinnati staffer before moving to Washington as a political correspondent and in 2011 political editor.
The Huffington Post first reported Sidoti's pending exit, quoting an email from Sidoti that said she was "looking for a new challenge."
David Pace, a Washington news editor for the AP, takes the national political reins on an interim basis.
BP's North American headquarters is in Houston, but Morrell and Sidoti are based in its Washington office.
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