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GPS GLOBAL TEAM – POLITICAL EXPERIENCE 

Mark J. Penn – Worldwide CEO, Burson-Marsteller & President, Penn Schoen Berland

  • President Bill Clinton’s pollster and political adviser during his 1996 re-election campaign.
  • Advised British Prime Minister Tony Blair on successful campaign for a landmark third term Labour government.
  • Chief strategist to then Senator Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential Campaign.

Karen Hughes – Vice Chair, Burson-Marsteller

  • US Under-Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
  • Communications Director for George W. Bush’s successful 2000 Presidential Campaign.
  • Counselor to President Bush in his successful 2004 Re-election Campaign.

Don Baer – Vice Chair, Burson-Marsteller

  • President Clinton’s Director for Strategic Planning and Communications.
  • White House Director of Speechwriting and Research.
  • Chief Presidential Speechwriter. 

Charles R. Black – Chairman, Prime Policy Group

  • Senior advisor to both President Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush.
  • Senior Strategist in John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid.
  • Former chief spokesman and political director of the Republican National Committee.
  • Widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading public affairs professionals, serving as a principal legislative and public affairs advisor to several Fortune 500 companies and trade associations.   

R. Scott Pastrick – President & CEO, Prime Policy Group  

  • Senior Advisor and liaison to Congress for the successful 1992 Clinton campaign. 
  • Former Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee and an Officer of the Executive Committee.
  • Served in several high-level positions in the National Democratic Party leadership and as an advisor to numerous Presidential, Congressional and Senatorial campaigns. 

John Tanner – Vice Chair, Prime Policy Group

  • Former U.S. Congressman for 22 years, representing the 8th congressional district of Tennessee.
  • Served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Ways and Means Committee, where he chaired both the Social Security and Trade Subcommittees.
  • Also served on the House Armed Services Committees was Chief Deputy Whip of the 109-111 Democratic Congresses.

Jay Leveton – Worldwide Executive Vice President, Burson-Marsteller

  • Pollster in the 2008 Hillary Clinton for President Campaign with extensive experience in both corporate image management and high level political research.

  • Expert in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, leading domestic and international research and advertising projects in over 25 countries, from Angola to Azerbaijan.

Nate Tibbits – U.S. Public Affairs Practice Chair, Burson-Marsteller

  • Former Executive Secretary of the US National Security Council, where he supported President Obama and his team in formulating national security policy.

  • Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel, with oversight for candidate identification and the selection process of more than 1,000 presidential appointments.

  • Former senior member of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team, Chief Operating Officer for the Center for a New American Security, Vice President for International Education at Discovery Communications, and senior positions in the Albright Stonebridge Group and the National Democratic Institute.

  • Has worked, lived and traveled in/to more than 70 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

Craig Smith – Senior Campaign Strategist & Principal, Penn Schoen Berland

  • Over 25 years of political campaign and strategy development experience
  • Has organized political campaigns at national, state and local events
  • Held several positions under President Bill Clinton, including White House Political Director

Jeremy Galbraith – EMEA CEO & Global Chair, Public Affairs Practice, Burson-Marsteller

  • Over 20 years’ experience helping companies and organizations manage critical issues and influence European political processes
  • Has advised multiple governments, prime ministers, senior politicians and regulatory heads on policy issues and positioning at home and abroad.  

Dr. Matt Carter – CEO, Burson-Marsteller UK & Chairman, Penn Schoen Berland EMEA 

  • Former General Secretary of the British Labour Party under Prime Minister Tony Blair. 
  • Party manager for Labour’s historic 2005 General Election campaign.
  • Senior Counselor to multiple corporation heads of including Coca-Cola, Shell, Sky, Sony Erikson and Dell.  

Robert Mack – Brussels CEO, Burson-Marsteller

  • Over 18 years’ experience advising clients on issues linked to EU policy and regulation
  • Has advised governments, prime ministers and other senior politicians on positioning towards European Union institutions and European media

David Harley – Senior Adviser, Burson-Marsteller Brussels

  • Former Deputy Secretary-General of the European Parliament
  • Former aide to the European Parliament President
  • Has advised senior parliamentarians on relations with EU member state governments

Chris Deri – CEO, Burson-Marsteller China

  • More than 20 of experience with global public affairs and corporate social responsibility campaigns. 
  • Director of business outreach and finance for Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 U.S. Presidential Elections.
  • Director of Institutional Affairs for the National Minority Aids Council, the largest AIDS advocacy organization in the US.

Jane Zhang – Director of Government Relations and Public Policy Consulting, B-M China

  • Former Head of Strategic Policy for Pfizer China. In that role Jane built and led the team to analyze China’s healthcare reform and develop Pfizer’s position on reimbursement, pricing, intellectual property rights and international trade.

  • Co-founded and led Tiger International Group in 2003, a research and consulting company specialized in providing China market entry and business development services to U.S. companies and organizations.

  • Former principal aide to the Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.

  • Jane played an important role in the historic ceremony marking Hong Kong’s return to China, and served as the press official of the Foreign Ministry Commissioner’s Office in Hong Kong. In this role, Jane designed and executed the Office’s communications plan around the “One Country, Two Systems” policy.

Ian McCabe – Managing Director, Asia - Pacific Public Affairs, Burson-Marsteller

  • Head of Public Affairs and Government Communications in Asia Pacific, with more than 30 years global communications experience.
  • A world expert in country branding, sovereign economic communications, and foreign direct investment programs.
  • Advisor to the governments and heads of state of Hong Kong, Philippines, South Korea, among other countries.

Ramiro Prudencio – Latin America COO & Managing Director, Burson-Marsteller

  • Over 20 years experience with public affairs campaigns in Latin America.
  • Previously country director for B-M in Brazil and Chile and legislative aide to the U.S. Representative for the State of New Mexico, Bill Richardson.
  • Previous clients include NAFTA, Lockheed Martin, Coca-Cola, and Hewlett-Packard, among others.

·         Gardner Peckham – Managing Director, Prime Policy Group

  • More than 25 years’ experience in the development and implementation of federal policy on foreign relations, national security, and trade issues.
  • Previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs under James A. Baker, director of legislative affairs to NSC Advisor Brent Scowcroft, and senior foreign policy advisor to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, among other senior roles. 

Lisa Cotter Colangelo – Senior Consultant, Prime Policy Group 

  • 20 years of experience in government relations and communications. 
  • Strong background representing governments and opposition parties globally, conducting democratic elections and working with leading democracy and human rights groups. 
  • Supported the 2008 McCain presidential campaign and was also a member of the Human Rights and Foreign Policy steering group of the 1996 Dole presidential campaign.  

Robin Leeds – CEO, Winning Strategies LLC & Burson-Marsteller Strategic Partner

  • Senior political strategist, organizer, and advocate with more than 30 years of work in government, labor relations, business, and the non-profit sector.
  • Advised President Barack Obama's women outreach and policy teams during the 2008 presidential campaign.
  • Former senior appointee in the Clinton White House on women’s and public right’s issues.

Amit Khetarpaul – Director, Public Affairs, Washington DC    

  • More than 15 years in public affairs focusing on public diplomacy campaigns for U.S. and foreign governments, multilateral institutions and global organizations.
  • Global client leader for IMF. Previous experience with the U.S. Treasury Department, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and other governments/political institutions.

Alex Braun - Vice President, Penn, Schoen & Berland 

  • Extensive experience providing strategy, communications, tactics, and polling to political campaigns around the world.
  • Former advisor to the Prime Ministers of Great Britain and Slovakia and the Presidents of the Philippines and Ukraine, as well as dozens other high-level candidates, political parties, issue advocacy groups, and Fortune 500 companies.

Dritan Nesho - Research and Staff Director, Government and Political Services Group

  • Strategy and communications consultant in several Eastern European political campaigns. 
  • Deputy head of opposition research and rapid response, and lead policy researcher, in the 2010 Ukrainian presidential elections.
  • Policy and academic experience at Harvard’s Center for Government and International Studies, National bank and Parliament of Albania, and the United Nations.