Author: ally

Forbes Tate Partners Acquires Engage

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Bipartisan Public Affairs Firm Formalizes Partnership with Leading Digital Advocacy Specialists

WASHINGTON – Forbes Tate Partners (FTP), a bipartisan, full-service, government relations and public affairs firm, today announced its acquisition of Engage, a DC-based digital media agency. The acquisition will cement the two firms’ long-standing partnership and enable the newly expanded FTP to advance its clients’ goals in even more seamless and productive ways in the face of an ever-changing advocacy market.

“Forbes Tate Partners just celebrated a decade in business,” said Jeff Forbes, FTP Founding Partner.  “Today’s announcement marks the next step in our firm’s evolution as we continue to deliver a competitive edge for our clients. Having successfully partnered with Engage on many projects in the past, we are confident they are a perfect fit for our firm’s culture. We are delighted to formally welcome them to the Forbes Tate family and to add their considerable ability and expertise to our team.”

Added FTP Founding Partner, Dan Tate, “The formalization of our partnership allows FTP a unique opportunity to add top-notch talent, expand our footprint, and, ultimately, be that much more effective on behalf of our combined group of clients, spanning the nation’s largest industries, from health care, energy and financial services to emerging technologies, telecommunications, and manufacturing.”

“Digital public affairs is hardly new, but Forbes Tate’s commitment to investing in innovation clearly sets them apart,” said Engage Managing Partner, Nick Schaper. “Engage has established best-in-class capabilities that blend winning creative and technology with decades of experience at the highest levels of public policy to achieve effective, measurable results.”

Engage Managing Partner, Erik Rapprich said, “We look forward to formally joining forces with our colleagues at Forbes Tate to begin this new chapter in our shared history and unlock the value of the significant opportunity ahead.”

Engage, a full-service digital agency providing technology, design and creative, advocacy, and advertising services, was founded in 2007 and employs 19 professionals who have partnered with Fortune 500 companies, leading advocacy organizations, and the largest trade associations in the United States.

In December ‘21, FTP went public on the London Stock Exchange AIM as part of the Public Policy Holding Company (stock ticker PPHC.L). It was once again recognized as one of Bloomberg Government’s top performing lobbying firms for 2021. Most recently, FTP was named a PRNEWS Top Elite 100 agency for 2023, a prestigious honor recognizing the firm as one of the leading public relations practices in the country.

To learn more about FTP and Engage, visit FTP’s website.

Three Firms Show Strength in Q3; PPHC Remains the Leader

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WASHINGTON – U.S. federal lobbying disclosures for the third quarter of 2022 have been released, showing that PPHC firms continue to thrive. Forbes Tate Partners, Crossroads Strategies, and Alpine Group Partners have once again all cracked the top 20 rankings. The three firms’ revenue combined has PPHC leading the pack in the number one spot.

Read the full revenue rankings list from POLITICO here.

Public Policy Holding Company Announces the Acquisition of KP Public Affairs

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A leading firm in Sacramento becomes the newest addition to PPHC; first since IPO 

Today, we announce the acquisition of KP Public Affairs, a leading California lobbying, government affairs, and public relations firm. This is our first acquisition as a publicly listed business and complements our strategy to build and acquire lobbying and strategic communications assets in key state markets, as outlined in our IPO.  

California is the largest individual state economy in the US and is at the forefront of major issues including climate change, privacy, and labor regulations. KP has been ranked as one of the largest lobbying firms in California for more than 20 years, with current clients including many Fortune 500 corporations, industry associations, local governments, and small businesses.   

“The firm’s Managing Partners, Jonathan Ross, Michael Burns, Ed Manning, Patrick George, Alison MacLeod, Jeff Sickenger and their stellar team have long been one of the largest practices in California.  More importantly, their deep policy expertise and longstanding commitments to clients promises to make KP a strong addition. We have a proven track record of integrating outstanding, entrepreneurial businesses, and I look forward to working closely with the team.”  -Stewart Hall, CEO, PPHC

Following completion of the acquisition, KP will continue operating under its existing brand and with its longstanding and incentivized management team and staff, as a wholly owned subsidiary of PPHC. 

Read more about KP Public Affairs here.  

Congratulations to Forbes Tate Partners and Seven Letter for Being Named to PRNEWS’ Agency Elite Top 100

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WASHINGTON — Forbes Tate Partners (FTP) and Seven Letter have both been named to PRNEWS’ Agency Elite Top 100 for 2023. This prestigious honor places a spotlight on the most innovative agencies in the business, recognizing the two PPHC firms as leaders in the public relations industry.

See the full 2023 Agency Elite Top 100 list here.

Seven Letter Adds Drew O’Brien to Leadership Team

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WASHINGTON- Seven Letter, a full-service strategic communications firm with offices in Washington and Boston, has announced the addition of Drew O’Brien to their leadership team. O’Brien will be taking on the position of partner at Seven Letter’s Boston, MA location.

O’Brien brings with him an extensive background working in both the private and public sectors. His most recent role was at Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW), where O’Brien led the firm’s business throughout the Northeast region as executive vice president and managing director. O’Brien also served as president of Direct Impact, BCW’s grassroots communications and advocacy practice.

Prior to entering the private sector in 2016, O’Brien’s public sector experience included work in the US State Department as Secretary John Kerry’s special representative for global partnerships. Throughout his tenure at the State Department, O’Brien dealt with outreach to private companies and NGOs as the Office of Global Partnerships played a key role in the US Water Partnership, the Secretary’s Our Oceans Conference, the Global Entrepreneurship Summit and the US response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa in 2014.

“As far as strategic communications advisors go, there is no one better than Drew O’Brien,” said Seven Letter’s founding partner and CEO Erik Smith. “Drew’s background in the private and public sectors, and his intimate knowledge of the integral elements of communications and advocacy strategy make him a tremendous asset to both the clients with whom we partner and our internal team. Many of us have known Drew for decades and now we are thrilled to welcome him as a teammate and colleague.”

Seven Letter is a member company of PPHC, the Public Policy Holding Company.  

Read more about this story in PR Week and POLITICO Influence.

PPHC Firms Rank High in Revenue for Q2

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WASHINGTON- The Lobbying Disclosure Act revenue rankings were released last week, with PPHC firms showing continued success in the second quarter of 2022. Once again, Forbes-Tate Partners, Crossroads Strategies, and Alpine Group Partners all ranked among the top twenty firms. These PPHC firms also reported revenue increases compared to the first quarter of 2022.

See the full list of rankings from POLITICO here.

PPHC appoints Neal Strum as Chief Legal Officer

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WASHINGTON – Public Policy Holding Company, Inc. (PPHC) today announced the addition of Neal Strum as Chief Legal Officer, a newly created role. Strum brings nearly a decade of experience with PPHC companies, having served as external counsel since PPHC’s 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.

Seven Letter Celebrates Growth

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WASHINGTON – Seven Letter, a bipartisan, full-service strategic communications firm with offices in Washington and Boston, announced today the addition of Kris Fetterman, Anthony Thomas, Madeline Reynolds and Erin Hill to its growing team. These additions are to the firm’s Washington, Boston and Seven Letter Insight teams.

The firm also announced today additional staff and leadership moves as a result of firm growth, including naming Catherine Adamchak a partner, founding partner Allison Fastow as head of Seven Letter talent and engagement, and director Holly Jackson to a leadership role in the firm’s grassroots and grasstops advocacy practice.

“In the three years since we first launched Seven Letter, we’ve enhanced our digital offering through Seven Letter Labs, expanded our geographic footprint through a merger with Boston-based O’Neill and Associates and established a public opinion research practice through Insight,” said founding partner Trevor Francis. “Today’s announcement of new hires and exciting new leadership roles represents success in what we’ve done over the last three years, but also an important investment in the future capabilities of the firm, both in terms of the support we can offer our clients and internal capacity building for our own staff. It’s an exciting time to be at Seven Letter.”

Fetterman, who was previously with the firm for several years, returns as a director after serving most recently as a writer for philanthropist Melinda French Gates and her investment and incubation company, Pivotal Ventures. Prior to his time with Pivotal Ventures, Kris was on the speechwriting team of the 2016 Democratic National Convention and penned over 500 speeches as the speechwriter for U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro—who now chairs the House Appropriations Committee.

Reynolds joins as a content specialist for strategic communications based in Boston. With an administrative and financial background, Hill joins as the firm’s new Manager of Operations.

Thomas, who recently completed a fellowship with Seven Letter, joins as a content specialist in the firm’s expanding messaging and opinion research practice, Seven Letter Insight, launched one year ago this fall.

“We’re excited about the rapid growth we’ve seen in Insight’s first year,” said partner and head of research, Matt George. “In order to make informed decisions and communicate about them effectively, policymakers, business leaders and non-profits need an accurate and honest measure of public opinion. Our clients deserve thoughtful, well-executed qualitative and quantitative research that creates a blueprint for successful strategic communications. And that’s exactly what Insight consistently provides. We’re thrilled to welcome Anthony to the team.”

Fetterman, Hill and Thomas work in Seven Letter’s Washington office and Reynolds in Boston.

The firm also announced that several long-tenured employees with the firm are assuming new leadership roles.

Catherine Adamchak, formerly the firm’s Chief of Staff, has been named a Partner and will serve as Head of Finance & Operations, supported by new hire Erin Hill. Recent capability and geographic expansions, along with organic growth, have increased Seven Letter’s revenue by nearly 400% since Adamchak first joined the firm, and the promotion reflects the maturation of her role in the integration of those expansions, her management of a headcount that has nearly quadrupled, and the increased financial, legal and infrastructure commitments of the agency.

Allison Fastow, one of the firm’s founding partners, is becoming Head of Talent & Engagement, a new role in which she will oversee the professional development of all staff and manage the integration and execution of client service best practices across the firm’s numerous offerings.

Holly Jackson, a director with the firm, is taking on a leadership role with Seven Letter’s growing grassroots & grasstops advocacy practice. In this role, she will help manage Seven Letter’s 50-state field network of communications experts working to mobilize on-the-ground voices to advance clients’ interests.

Seven Letter is a full-service strategic communications firm with specialties in crisis communications, creative content development, brand and reputation management, public affairs, digital strategy and grasstops/grassroots mobilization. In 2019, Seven Letter launched Seven Letter Labs, expanding and enhancing its digital strategy services. The firm’s 2020 merger with the communications practice of Boston-based O’Neill and Associates expanded the firm’s geographic footprint, its team and reach. In 2020, Seven Letter launched Seven Letter Insight, an opinion and messaging research offering. Seven Letter was named to the 2020 PR News Agency Elite Top 100 and is a multi-year “PR News Top Places to Work” award winner, with senior leaders of the firm also receiving awards for industry excellence from PR Week, PR News and other outlets.

Seven Letter and O’Neill and Associates are member companies of PPHC, the Public Policy Holding Company.  

PPHC Firms Prosper in Q3

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WASHINGTON – PPHC firms continue to prosper in 2021. U.S. Federal lobbying disclosures for the third quarter show PPHC firms leading in revenue. Forbes Tate Partners, Crossroads Strategies, and Alpine Group ranked among the top twenty firms.  

Jeff Forbes, founding partner of Forbes Tate Partners, spoke with Roll Call about the increase in revenue, saying, “We’ve been growing at a great clip, and we hope we can continue to do it.”  

See the rankings from POLITICO here and read the full Roll Call story here.

Seven Letter selected to PRNews’ “Agency Elite Top 100”

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WASHINGTON – Seven Letter was selected by PRNews to the Agency Elite Top 100 list. This list is the “ultimate comprehensive guide dedicated to the most innovative PR & communications firms in the business.” The prestigious award is judged on results, creativity, reputation, and leadership. See the full list here.  

Seven Letter is a member company of PPHC, the Public Policy Holding Company.