WASHINGTON, D.C.—Cassidy & Associates, the lobbying firm owned by Interpublic and former parent of public affairs specialist Powell Tate, has launched a new strategic communications practice. Chad Kolton, former press secretary at the White House Office of Management and Budget, will lead the new practice as a senior vice president.
“To be most effective, a comprehensive advocacy effort needs to include a closely-integrated, strategic communications component,” says the firm’s founder and chief executive Gerald Cassidy. “We have been at the forefront of this approach since our founding. This new practice means we can once again directly integrate our government relations and communications capabilities under one roof.”
Most recently, Kolton was press secretary at the White House Office of Management and Budget. He had previously served in the Bush Administration as director of public affairs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and in positions in the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives and the Department of Labor. During President Bush’s first election, he served as deputy communications director for the RNC’s Victory 2000.