American Trucking Associations has hired Mike Joyce, a veteran of Capitol Hill and the trucking industry, as the group’s senior vice president of legislative affairs.

He is replacing Chris Spear who departed in October for a position with Hyundai. Spear, who joined ATA in 2013, took the SVP position only a year ago, moving up from vice president of legislative affairs.

Prior to his new position, Joyce worked as director of government relations for Paccar. He also worked for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and several congressmen including Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), and Mac Collins (R-Ga.).

“Mike is well-known and respected in the halls of Congress and in our industry,” said Bill Graves, ATA president and CEO, “We are tremendously pleased that he will be part of the ATA family going forward.”

Joyce holds a bachelor of arts degree in business management with a political science minor from Gettysburg College.

“Much of the value of a membership of ATA comes from the advocacy efforts put forth by the staff in Washington, specifically on Capitol Hill,” said Dave Osiecki, ATA executive vice president and chief of national advocacy. “Mike’s depth of knowledge and experience with the issues that impact trucking the most made him an obvious choice for us and will make him a valuable member of the advocacy team.”

Related: Q&A: ATA Chairman Pat Thomas on What's Ahead in Lobbying