Steve Schmidt Joins Edelman as Vice Chairman, Public Affairs
June 02, 2010, -- Steve Schmidt, one of the top public affairs and political strategists in the country, is joining Edelman, the world’s largest independent public relations firm, as Vice Chairman, Public Affairs. While providing counsel on a limited basis effective immediately, he will join in full come December 1st. Schmidt most recently has been a partner at Mercury Public Affairs, where he led the firm’s operations in California.
Named by PR Week in 2008 as one of the top 25 most powerful leaders in the public relations industry, Schmidt has provided high-level strategic counsel to political candidates, elected officials, and major organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, Hollywood studios and professional sports teams.
Prior to Mercury, he served in positions at the highest levels of politics and government, including Senior Advisor to John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign; Campaign Manager for the 2006 re-election of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, an effort The Los Angeles Times called "a nearly flawless campaign"; Deputy Assistant to the President and Counsellor to the Vice President in the White House, where he played leading roles on the confirmation teams for the nominations of both Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court; and a member of the senior strategic planning group that directed Former President Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign.
“As we focus on new opportunities within the public affairs arena, Steve brings a strategic understanding of how to work across the sector’s numerous stakeholder audiences,” said Richard Edelman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Edelman. “He has deep experience navigating the interactions between business, government, media and civil society and will be a core member of our senior team to help drive business under our public engagement model and achieve our goals in the public affairs practice.”
Schmidt will serve as a senior strategic counsellor to Edelman on a global basis. He also will serve as an advisor to Edelman’s $60 million U.S. Public Affairs practice, encompassing a team of 170 professionals serving a broad array of clients including API, Business Roundtable, Monsanto, Oregon Bridge Delivery Partners, and Pfizer. He will report to Matthew Harrington, President and CEO, Edelman U.S., and will be based in Sacramento.
“In addition to Steve’s reputation and expertise in public affairs, he also is a strong counsellor in the corporate arena working directly with chief executives on positioning and reputation matters,” said Harrington. “We welcome the addition of his talents in building business and look forward to his making numerous contributions to the firm.”
During Schmidt’s tenure in the White House, he advised on a wide range of issues and worked at the intersection of public communications, policy development, legislative advocacy and political strategy. Prior to leading Justice Alito’s confirmation team, Schmidt served in Baghdad, where he worked with U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, to perform a month-long assessment of media relations in the war zone.
“I’ve long admired Richard Edelman and the vision he brings to living in a multiple stakeholder world that requires a different level of public engagement,” said Schmidt. “Edelman’s global footprint and prestigious client roster presents a highly desired platform that I look forward to contributing to and building the next phase of my career.”
About Edelman
Edelman is the world’s largest independent public relations firm, with 3,200 employees in 52 offices worldwide. Edelman was named Advertising Age’s top-ranked PR firm of the decade; Adweek’s “2009 Agency of the Year”; PRWeek’s “2009 Agency of the Year” and “UK Consultancy of the Year”; and Holmes Report’s “Agency of the Decade,” “2009 Best Large Agency to Work For” and “2009 Asia Pacific Consultancy of the Year.” Edelman owns specialty firms Blue (advertising), StrategyOne (research), BioScience Communications (medical education and publishing), and MATTER (sports and entertainment). Visit www.edelman.com for more information.
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Latraviette Smith 212-704-4530 latraviette.smith@edelman.com |