Edelman has announced the appointment of Aaron McLear as U.S. Chair, Public Affairs. In this role, he will lead Edelman’s growing national community of public affairs practitioners who provide issues management and public policy support to companies, non-profits and governments.

Given the changing role of companies in society, Edelman’s public affairs experts increasingly counsel leaders considering how to engage on pressing political and societal issues to advance an agenda or protect from vulnerabilities— often in partnership with experts in social purpose, employee experience, financial communications and brand or customer communications.

McLear most recently served as Managing Director, Public Affairs and Crisis for Edelman’s Western region, advising a range of clients on crises, corporate reputation and political issues. He is a key advisor on Edelman U.S.’s partnership with the Gun Safety Alliance and has been the driving force behind the agency’s commitment to gun safety, including our new research on Leadership and Anti-Gun Violence.

“With greater expectations for companies and organizations to engage on pressing political and societal issues to earn trust, we provide counsel and programs that take into account the full spectrum of stakeholder demands,” said Russell Dubner, U.S. President and CEO of Edelman. “Our public affairs teams are built around deep sector experience and a mix of political campaign and story-telling experts who manage fully integrated programs involving research, media relations, issues advertising and digital engagement. Much of the public policy momentum these days is in the states and our national grassroots network is a great resource for our clients.”

Prior to Edelman, McLear’s advisory experience crossed business, government, and political campaigns. Most recently at Uber, he was Director of Public Affairs for the US Western region before overseeing the company’s corporate, consumer, internal, product, and safety communications teams as Director of Central Communications. He has advised Neel Kashkari’s 2014 California gubernatorial campaign, Governor Mitt Romney’s 2012 Presidential campaign, and philanthropist Ron Conway. McLear also served as press secretary for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and for the Republican National Committee, worked on the 2005 Presidential Inaugural Committee and was Communications Director for the 2004 Ohio Bush-Cheney Campaign. Along the way, McLear also founded a public affairs firm that ran ballot initiative and public affairs campaigns for energy, health care and political reform clients.

In addition to the firm’s public affairs hub in Washington, DC, Edelman has expert practitioners in New York, Chicago, Sacramento, Seattle, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami and Orlando.

Edelman also provides clients with a bi-partisan grassroots network that covers all 50 states to drive policy programs at federal, state and local levels.

About Edelman

Edelman is a global communications firm that partners with businesses and organizations to evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations. Our 6,000 people in more than 60 offices deliver communications strategies that give our clients the confidence to lead and act with certainty, earning the trust of their stakeholders. Our honors include the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for PR; Advertising Age’s 2019 A-List; the Holmes Report’s 2018 Global Digital Agency of the Year; and, five times, Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work. Since our founding in 1952, we have remained an independent, family-run business. Edelman owns specialty companies Edelman Intelligence (research) and United Entertainment Group (entertainment, sports, lifestyle).