Stewart Hall is CEO of Public Policy Holding Company, which he co-founded in 2014, and co-founder and Chairman of Crossroads Strategies, LLC (CRS).

Stewart began his career as Legislative Director to Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) from 1992-1996. During this time, Stewart acquired a substantial background in defense policy, appropriations, financial services, and Senate procedure. In 1999, he co-founded Federalist Group, LLC as his first private sector venture.

Under his guidance as CEO, Federalist Group was ultimately acquired by Ogilvy Public Relations, a WPP company, in 2005 and proceeded to double in size during the four years after the transaction under his continued leadership.

In 2010, Stewart co-founded CRS and in 2014, CRS was merged to form PPHC – the first full-service organization dedicated to synthesizing all disciplines of the public policy economy in a multi-brand, horizontally integrated company.

As CEO of PPHC, Stewart has overseen an organization that now includes eleven member companies and has grown to over 450 employees around the world.

Stewart is a graduate of the University of Alabama and earned an MA and Ph.D. in Government from the University of Virginia.

Roel Smits is Chief Financial Officer of PPHC. Roel joined PPHC in May 2022 as Deputy Chief Financial Officer with a strong focus on driving the company’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) agenda. Roel Smits has spent his career in private equity, corporate M&A, as CFO in business services, and often working at the intersection of these 3 areas. 

Prior to joining PPHC, Roel spent 10 years in various CFO roles at Kantar, the global research and insights firm jointly held by WPP and Bain Capital. Most recently he was CFO of Kantar Americas, where he led multiple growth and profitability initiatives. 

Before joining Kantar, Roel spent 6 years leading the North American M&A team of WPP (the global marketing services firm), reporting directly to the Founder/CEO.

Roel gathered his M&A experience throughout his 8 years at HAL Investments, a family-controlled private equity firm based out of Monaco and the Netherlands. 

Roel laid the foundations for his career by obtaining two master’s degrees at London Business School and at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. 

Being a Dutch native, he and his family have lived and worked in London, New York, Singapore, and the Netherlands. This international experience helped him develop a framework for driving high performance across various cultures. 

He currently lives with his wife and his 4 children in Westchester County, just outside of New York City.

Jill Kendrick is the Chief Operating Officer of Public Policy Holding Company. She brings 20 years of experience in developing, implementing, and growing the operational infrastructure to advance an organization throughout its business life cycle. She has been with PPHC since inception.

Prior to PPHC Jill served as the Chief Financial Officer of Crossroads Strategies, one of the founding firms of PPHC. In this role she built the back-office infrastructure from the ground up for the financial and human resources processes across the growing group of companies.

Before CRS, Jill served as the Chief Administrative Officer of Ogilvy Government Relations. In this capacity, she had oversight of all financial and personnel activities for, at the time, one of the top five government relations firms. She transitioned from Federalist Group to Ogilvy Government Relations post acquisition of Federalist Group by Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, a WPP Company. She was the key point of contact throughout the due diligence during the acquisition process and handled the transition of all the financial and human resources post-acquisition.

Jill has held additional positions within Federalist Group, Berman Enterprises, and in Disaster Fundraising for the National Headquarters of the American Red Cross. It was in these positions that she grew her appreciation for business process improvement.

Jill is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and resides just outside of Annapolis, MD with her husband Andy and two daughters.

Thomas Gensemer joined PPHC after nearly 20 years in advertising, public affairs and politics. From 2005-2013 he served as CEO and Managing Partner of Blue State Digital (BSD) where he led the agency from its early founding through years of rapid growth until its ultimate acquisition by WPP in late 2011.

In 2014, Thomas was named Chief Strategy Officer for BURSON (then Burson-Marsteller), one of the world’s largest public relations networks (also a WPP company), where he oversaw a portfolio of global clients (Accenture, Ford, Nestle) and led the firm’s research, analytics, and creative functions.

In 2019, he joined PPHC as an advisor and assumed his current role in early 2020.

Thomas’ work and insights have been featured in global media including Bloomberg, the Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Economist, and Business Week. He’s also appeared on CNN, CNBC, ITV, BBC, and Bloomberg TV.

Thomas continues involvement in organizations including the World Economic Forum, Aspen Institute, International Rescue Committee, Kasita, a hospitality start-up, and Court Avenue, a digital transformation agency. He also serves on the boards of the Public Goods Projects (PGP), the Purpose Foundation, the It Gets Better Campaign, and is a longtime advisor to the Family Equality Council.

He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his husband, their baby daughter, and two very spoiled dogs.

John serves as Chief Client Officer of PPHC as well as Chairman and Co-founder of Crossroads Strategies, LLC.  Crossroads is a multidisciplinary federal government relations firm based in Washington, DC.  During his thirty years in the advocacy community, John has successfully achieved policy results in virtually every field of federal advocacy, notably in technology and resources issues.  Prior to his work at PPHC and Crossroads, John co-founded Federalist Group, LLC.  Federalist Group was acquired by Ogilvy Public Relations and grew to be one of the top five government relations firms in Washington. 

John began his career working in the United States Senate, where he handled policy and administrative matters for the Assistant Majority Leader and eventual Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate.  Additionally, he served as campaign manager for a successful congressional campaign, national finance chairman for multiple U.S. Senate campaigns, and senior advisor to a presidential campaign. 

John holds a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies from the University of Mississippi.

Neal Strum is the Chief Legal Officer of Public Policy Holding Company. He recently joined PPHC following its IPO, but served as outside legal counsel to PPHC since inception. Neal brings over thirty years of legal experience as a corporate and finance attorney at Venable LLP. Prior to joining PPHC, Neal represented numerous clients across various industries – service, finance, hospitality, technology and healthcare – with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, private equity and other equity investments. Neal is a graduate of the University of Maryland and resides in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife and children.

Throughout his extensive career, Ron has developed key workplace improvement initiatives, built and administered employee engagement programs, and oversaw performance management and benefits processes at leading corporations across a wide range of industries. In his current role as Executive Vice President and Head of Human Resources, Ron provides strategic HR planning, direction, and operational business support while simultaneously serving as a leader, consultant, resource, and subject matter expert on HR policies, practices, and programs for member companies of PPHC.

Prior to joining PPHC, Ron was the university-wide head of employee relations at William & Mary, where he directly oversaw all full-cycle performance and talent management initiatives for over 2,500 staff. He previously served as a managing consultant at Watershed, where he helped industry-leading partner companies successfully define, identify, attract, select, integrate, develop, train, and retain top talent.  Ron is also a graduate of William & Mary, where he earned a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in social psychology.

Paula Thrasher is the Vice President of Financial Operations at Public Policy Holding Company. In this capacity she oversees the Accounting Department and is primarily responsible for directing and managing the fiscal and accounting functions in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and Holding Company and member company policies, procedures and regulations respectively, across all operating units.

Paula Thrasher came to Public Policy Holding Company with over twenty-five years of experience in accounting and financial analysis. She has management experience in accounting, budgeting, board presentations, cash management, financing, revenue sharing, information systems, property management, statistics, and strategic planning.

Mrs. Thrasher graduated from Troy University with a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting. She has previously been the Director of Finance with Forbes Tate Partners and the Controller/Staff Accountant for Diamond Concrete, Dominic’s, Alabama Farmers Federation, EFS, Inc., Dialysis Clinic Inc., and Columbia Regional Medical Center. She and her husband, Adrian, live in AZ.

Brian joined PPHC in September 2023, in his role he leverages his experience generating insights from financial data in PPHC’s financial reporting and analysis function.  This includes strategic planning, executive insights, investor relations, and analyst/lender disclosures. Brian is also engaged in continuous improvement of financial and commercial processes for the company.

Before joining PPHC, Brian spent 7 years at Kantar, the global research and insights firm, as a senior leader in their Financial Reporting & Analysis team.  In this role, Brian was responsible for global reporting and planning processes for the company and for initiatives to implement planning and reporting tools across the enterprise.

Prior to this role at Kantar, Brian spent 10 years in Global Controllership and Regional CFO roles with Millward Brown.

Brian holds a B.S. in Accountancy from Northern Illinois University and a M.B.A. Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.  He resides outside of Chicago, IL with his wife Jill and their two children.

Adam is the Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions at PPHC, where he plays a crucial role in supporting the company’s growth through strategic acquisitions. Adam began his professional journey at Gowling WLG, a leading UK national law firm, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions. During his tenure there, he handled substantial transactions for major corporate clients in the UK and internationally. His work led him to join the firm’s client, Volvo Car Corporation as UK counsel, where he further solidified his expertise by supporting Volvo’s UK operations. 

In 2015, Adam moved from the UK to the United States to lead Volvo’s Americas legal team and supporting the company’s transformative efforts in the US market. His role evolved over time to encompass senior operational and commercial leadership positions within Volvo, where he successfully navigated complex business challenges and opportunities.  Adam reconnected with his M&A roots in 2023 when he joined PPHC. His diverse background in M&A, legal, operational, and commercial domains positions him well to drive PPHC’s acquisition strategy and support its growth trajectory. 

A graduate of the University of Southampton and the University of Law in the UK, Adam resides in New York with his wife and four children.

Dale Proctor is the Associate Vice President of Legal Services with Public Policy Holding Company.  Dale joined PPHC after 30 years with International Law Firms, most recently as the Practice Administrator and Senior Paralegal Manager in the Asset Management and Investment Funds practice group with K&L Gates LLP.  Dale has extensive knowledge in general corporate and transactional matters, private funds formations and offerings, and state securities law matters.  She has served as a Trustee on the Maret School Board of Trustees.  Dale is a frequent speaker at educational seminars on various corporate and securities topics.

Dale attended the University of Delaware and the George Washington University College of Professional Studies and resides in Arlington, VA with her husband, David.  They have 3 adult children.

Matthew Mazzanti is the Assistant Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Communications for PPHC. In this position, Matthew assists with corporate development, acquisitions and optimization, and special projects.

Prior to joining PPHC full-time in 2021, Matthew started his career as an Associate with Crossroads Strategies and later served as Operations Manager with the firm.

Matthew lives in Washington, DC, and is a graduate of the University of Mississippi where he majored in Public Policy Leadership, Banking & Finance, and Managerial Finance and graduated from the School of Business.

Keenan Austin Reed, a global leader on policy and politics, serves as a senior advisor to the Public Policy Holding Company. Austin Reed is known for mobilizing her immense network and building brands and coalitions to advance the goals of her clients and the broader Capitol Hill community; she brings that expertise to this role. 

Austin Reed is also CEO of the Alpine Group, a top 20 lobbying firm in Washington and a PPHC member company. She joined Alpine Group in 2021 and has swiftly risen to the firm’s leadership. At Alpine, she is responsible for advocacy across a broad range of policy areas, this includes contributing to initiatives led by the Congressional Black Caucus, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the Biden Administration, where her expertise in campaigns, media, energy, climate, health, technology, and telecommunications has proved invaluable. 

Austin Reed was recently named “Lobbyist of the Year” by the prestigious Washington Government Relations Group. In May 2021, Austin Reed testified before the U.S. House Select Committee on Modernization on ways the Capitol Hill community can attract and retain top talent. 

Austin Reed is the founder and Chair of Black Women Leading, a 501c3, that supports the empowerment of Black women in public service, notably the Black Women’s Congressional Alliance (BWCA). BWCA has a membership of over 800 current and former staffers and has been credited for being a force in diversifying the legislative and executive branches. 

Austin Reed has served in a number of policy and political roles, including Chief of Staff for Congressman Donald McEachin (2017-2020); Florida Political Director to Secretary Hillary Clinton (2016); Chief of Staff to D.C. Councilmember David Grosso; and Deputy Chief of Staff/Senior Advisor (2011-2015).

Austin Reed’s contributions continue through various directorships and leadership roles including Advisory Council Chair at GlobalWIN, Vice Chair of the Women’s Congressional Policy Institute (WCPI), a member of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s (CBCF) Corporate Advisory Council, and Vice Chair of SOME’s (So Others May Eat) Corporate Advisory Board.

Austin Reed received her bachelor’s degree and MBA from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) and is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

A co-founder of the Group, Bill Chess serves as a senior advisor to PPHC. Previously, Bill served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, part of WPP. In this position, he had responsibility for worldwide administrative functions and operations. He was a member of the firm’s executive committee and management committee.

Bill began his career in financial operations with Unilever’s Lever Brothers Co. During his tenure with Unilever he held many financial positions of increasing responsibility, eventually becoming controller of Lever Brothers Co. and then financial vice president of Lever’s Foods Division.

Prior to starting his business career, Bill served as an air traffic controller in the US Air Force. Bill holds an MBA in finance from Fordham University and is a member of Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business’ Advisory Board, a position he has held for more than 20 years.

Bill previously served as a member of the Marist College Advisory Board for the School of Global and Professional Programs, as a member of the Flame of Charity Board to aid Catholic Charities with fundraising in the Metuchen Diocese and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, an umbrella membership and service organization for more than 1,700 nonprofits in the New York City area.

Bill and his wife, Betsy, have three married children and eight grandchildren.