CGCN Group

Last updated
CGCN Group
Type Limited liability company
Industry Government relations
Predecessor
  • Clark Geduldig Cranford & Nielsen (2013-2015)
  • Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford (2011-2013);
  • Clark Lytle & Geduldig (2008-2011);
  • Clark & Associates (1999-2008)
Founded2000
FounderSteve Clark
Headquarters
Washington, D.C.
,
United States
Website cgcn.com

CGCN Group is an issue advocacy and lobbying firm in Washington, D.C. [1] The all-Republican firm has ties to GOP leadership and the party's conservative wing. [2] [3] Its clients include banks, finance, and oil companies, in addition to companies such as Microsoft, MasterCard, and Boeing. [4] [5] The firm was formerly known as Clark Geduldig Cranford & Nielsen.

Contents

History

CGCN Group originated from the lobbying firm created by Steve Clark in 2000. [6] Sam Geduldig and Gary Lytle joined Clark in 2007, and the firm became known as Clark Lytle & Geduldig. [7]

The firm worked with financial services companies during the financial reform debate from 2009 to 2010, involving laws like the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. At the time, CGCN had more financial services clients in Washington, D.C., than other firms during the Troubled Asset Relief Program. [8] In the wake of Republicans taking control of Congress in 2010, CGCN saw strong growth in its business [5] and the firm doubled in size from 2015 to 2017. [9] While closely tied to GOP leadership—its partners have worked with former House Speaker John Boehner and others—CGCN was among the first lobbying firms to court the conservative Freedom Caucus. [10] [11]

The firm was known as Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford and Clark Geduldig Cranford & Nielsen between 2011 and 2015, [12] [13] when the firm renamed itself CGCN Group. [14] In 2015, CGCN's clients included oil companies, such as Hess, for whom they lobbied to end the ban of crude oil exports. [15] CGCN was named a top lobbying firm by Bloomberg Government in 2015. [16] A report by Bloomberg Government gave CGCN the highest mark for firms retaining clients over the long term. [14] According to Bloomberg, CGCN retains 83 percent of its clients for at least three years, a higher percentage than other firms. [14]

CGCN began working with foreign clients in 2016 when Saudi Arabia hired the firm to build relationships with U.S. congressional Republicans. [17] The next year, CGCN signed Japan as its second foreign client. [18] In 2017, CGCN lobbied for: SAP America on data security, privacy, cybersecurity, health IT, cloud computing and privacy shield implementation; [19] Puerto Rico Department of Treasury; [20] American Investment Council, a private equity trade group; [21] power company NextEra Energy on energy policy and tax credits; [21] and TransCanada Corp. on the Keystone XL pipeline. [22] The firm's other clients include 21st Century Fox, Microsoft, MasterCard and Boeing. [4] Also in 2017, CGCN announced a partnership with four Democratic firms with close ties to the Congressional Black and Congressional Hispanic caucuses to seek bipartisan victories, potentially in the areas of "jobs, transportation infrastructure, outside investment, energy, and economic development", according to a memo on the partnership. [2] [23]

In the few years leading up to 2017, CGCN Group quadrupled in size. [24] Like other lobbying firms, CGCN Group posted a strong first year under the Trump administration. [25] [24] It made $8.4 million in revenue in 2017 (compared to $6.6 million in 2016), including $2.2 million in the fourth quarter (compared to $1.6 million the year before). [25] CGCN terminated its relationship with Saudi Arabia in 2018. [26] According to the Roll Call, CGCN is closely related to UBI (United by Interest), a bipartisan K Street (Washington, D.C.) group lobbying business interests on Capitol Hill. [27]

Partners

CGCN Group has 11 partners as of March 2020: Steve Clark, Jay Cranford, Sam Geduldig, Mike Nielsen, John Stipicevic, Juliane Sullivan, Mike Catanzaro, Aaron Szabo, Matt Rhoades, Antonia Ferrier, and Scott Riplinger [28] [29] [27]

Initial partners

Partner Steve Clark began the firm in 2000 in Ohio. [30] Sam Geduldig joined in 2007, after previously working as senior advisor to U.S. Representative Roy Blunt and John Boehner's political director from 1997 to 2000. [31] In 2011, Geduldig was named one of Washingtonian 40 Under 40, and he ranked No. 3 on K Street's top 10 lobbyists giving to the GOP in 2016. [10] [32] Clark and Geduldig are consistently named to The Hill's top lobbyists list. Geduldig first appeared on the list in 2008. [33] Jay Cranford joined Clark Lytle & Geduldig in 2011. [34] Cranford previously was a policy aide to Boehner and worked for the U.S. House's Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. [34] Cranford joined CGCN to build its energy and tech business. [34] Mike Nielsen joined CGCN in 2013. [13] He previously worked an aide to GOP members of the Senate Banking Committee and with U.S. Senator Bob Bennett. [35] Nielsen worked on the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul. [30]

Partners since 2014

Doug Schwartz became partner at CGCN in 2014. He was formerly chief of staff for the Senate Republican Conference and aide to U.S. Senator John Thune. [36] John Stipicevic was a member of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's office, where he liaisoned between GOP leadership and conservative members of Congress, before joining CGCN in 2015. [37] Juliane Sullivan, a former staff director of the House Education and the Workforce Committee under John Kline and policy director for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, became partner in 2017. [9] Patrick O'Connor, a former Washington reporter with Politico , Bloomberg News , and The Wall Street Journal who joined CGCN in 2016, launched the firm's strategic communications division. [5] Ken Spain, who worked with Koch Industries and Private Equity Growth Capital Council, joined CGCN in 2016 to help bolster the strategic communications unit. [3] [38] Mike Freeman, former counsel on the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee and advisor to U.S. Senator Mike Lee, joined in 2017. [39]

Michael Catanzaro was a partner from 2015 [40] until 2017, when Trump selected him as an energy advisor for the president's National Economic Council. [41] Catanzaro also worked on Trump's transition team following the 2016 election. [42] Catanzaro resigned from the Trump administration in April 2018 to rejoin CGCN Group. [43] [44] [45] Aaron Szabo, a lawyer who worked in both the Obama and Trump administrations, was named partner in 2018. [46]

Matt Rhoades and Antonia Ferrier (former aide to Mitch McConnell) [47] joined the firm in 2019. [48] Scott Riplinger (former legislative director for Mike Crapo) joined CGCN in 2020. [49]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Gillespie</span> American political strategist

Edward Walter Gillespie is an American politician, strategist, and lobbyist who served as the 61st Chair of the Republican National Committee from 2003 to 2005 and was counselor to the President from 2007 to 2009 during the Presidency of George W. Bush. In 2012 Gillespie was a senior member of the Mitt Romney presidential campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vin Weber</span> American politician

John Vincent Weber is an American politician, lobbyist and former Republican Congressman from Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lanny Davis</span> American lawyer, author, and lobbyist

Lanny Jesse Davis is an American political operative, lawyer, consultant, lobbyist, author, and television commentator. He is the co-founder and partner of the law firm of Davis Goldberg & Galper PLLC, and co-founder and partner of the public relations firm Trident DMG. From 1996 to 1998, he served as a special counsel to President Bill Clinton, and was a spokesperson for the President and the White House on matters concerning campaign-finance investigations and other legal issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lobbying in the United States</span> National lobbying overview

Lobbying in the United States describes paid activity in which special interest groups hire well-connected professional advocates, often lawyers, to argue for specific legislation in decision-making bodies such as the United States Congress. It is a highly controversial phenomenon, often seen in a negative light by journalists and the American public, with some critics describing it as a legal form of bribery, influence peddling, and/or extortion. While lobbying is subject to extensive and often complex rules which, if not followed, can lead to penalties including jail, the activity of lobbying has been interpreted by court rulings as constitutionally protected free speech and a way to petition the government for the redress of grievances, two of the freedoms protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. Since the 1970s, lobbying activity has grown immensely in the United States in terms of the numbers of lobbyists and the size of lobbying budgets, and has become the focus of much criticism of American governance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Podesta Group</span>

The Podesta Group was a lobbying and public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1988 by brothers John and Tony Podesta and has previously been known as Podesta Associates, podesta.com and PodestaMattoon. John Podesta left the firm in 1993, and Tony Podesta left the firm on October 30, 2017, after finding out about increased scrutiny of the firm. It has essentially ceased to exist since then. The firm reorganized in January 2007 after chairman Tony Podesta split with former business partner Dan Mattoon.

Matthew “Matt” Rhoades is an American political and public affairs consultant. He is cited as a pioneer in messaging through less conventional outlets, such as the Drudge Report, and influencing the public image of candidates and organizations who oppose his clients. He was the campaign manager of Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign and a founder of America Rising. Rhoades is currently serving as Co-CEO at CGCN Group, a Washington, D.C.-based public affairs firm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Podesta</span> American lawyer and lobbyist

Heather Miller Podesta is an American lawyer and lobbyist based in Washington, D.C. She is also a patron of contemporary art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard R. Burt</span> American diplomat

Richard R. Burt is an American businessman and diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Germany and was a chief negotiator of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Prior to his diplomatic career, Burt worked as director of a non-governmental organization and from 1977 to 1980 was a national security correspondent for The New York Times.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP is a lobbying and law firm based in the United States with 250 attorneys and policy consultants in 13 offices across the western U.S. and in Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Podesta</span> American lobbyist

Anthony Thomas Podesta is an American lobbyist best known for founding the Podesta Group. The brother of former White House Chief of staff John Podesta, he was formerly one of Washington's most powerful lobbyists and fundraisers.

BGR Group is a lobbying and communications firm based in Washington, D.C., with offices in London, Beijing and Austin, Texas. Founded in 1991 by former White House aides Ed Rogers and Haley Barbour, the firm was joined by Lanny Griffith to form Barbour Griffith & Rogers. In 2019, BGR was recognized by both The Hill and Bloomberg as a "Top Performing Lobbying Firm".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corey Lewandowski</span> American political operative and commentator

Corey R. Lewandowski is an American political operative, lobbyist, political commentator and author who is politically associated primarily with Donald Trump. He was the first campaign manager of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and fired by Trump during the Republican Primary. He later became a political commentator for One America News Network (OANN), Fox News and CNN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John David Hoppe</span>

John David Hoppe is an American politician and lobbyist who served as Chief of Staff for U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidential transition of Donald Trump</span> Transfer of presidential power from Barack Obama to Donald Trump

Planning for the presidential transition of Donald Trump, led by then vice president-elect, former governor Mike Pence of Indiana, began before Donald Trump won the United States presidential election on November 8, 2016, and became the president-elect. Trump was formally elected by the Electoral College on December 19, 2016. The transition was formerly led by Chris Christie until he and a number of his supporters were replaced or demoted on November 11. The results were certified by a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2017, and the transition ended when Trump was inaugurated at noon EST on January 20, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny DeStefano</span> American political advisor

Johnny DeStefano is an American political advisor who served as Assistant to President Donald Trump and Counselor to the President from 2017 to May 2019. He previously oversaw the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, White House Presidential Personnel Office, Office of Political Affairs, and Office of Public Liaison. DeStefano entered the Trump administration as Director of Presidential Personnel. After leaving the White House, DeStefano was appointed an adviser to the e-cigarette company Juul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Urban</span> American lobbyist

David Urban is an American lobbyist, political operative and political commentator for CNN, and Executive Vice President for North American corporate affairs at ByteDance. He served as a senior advisor to the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign and helped orchestrate the 2016 Republican National Convention in a successful effort to win Pennsylvania. In May 2018, he was appointed by President Trump to the board of American Battle Monuments Commission, and in July 2018 he was elevated by Trump to be Chairman of ABMC. In August 2019, President Trump appointed Urban to the Board of Visitors of the United States Military Academy, but Urban was removed by President Biden in September of 2021 as part of the removal of Trump-appointed members of the Service Academy Visitors Boards who Biden considered unqualified for such positions. Urban advised Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drew Maloney</span> American lawyer

Andrew Kerwin Maloney is a former senior U.S. government official and government affairs executive and the president and Chief Executive Officer of the American Investment Council, an industry association for private-equity investors and firms. He previously served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Legislative Affairs.

Kamil Ekim Alptekin is a Turkish businessman with real estate, aerospace, and consulting interests. He is the current Chairman of the Turkey-U.S. Business Council (TAİK) and an advocate for improved Turkish-American relations. His payments to Michael T. Flynn for research and lobbying work against the Gülen movement are central to an ongoing political controversy in American politics. Alptekin was indicted on December 12, 2018 on charges of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government and making false statements to investigators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DCI Group</span> American public relations firm

DCI Group is an American public relations, lobbying and business consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. The company was founded in 1996 as a consulting firm, and has since expanded its practice to become a public affairs company offering a range of services. DCI Group provides communications and advocacy services to clients including large US corporations, trade associations, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and government organizations. Services include communication campaigns to solicit public action on legislative issues, including, it has been alleged, the creation of grass-roots fronts for corporate campaigns, and campaigns for clients on social media websites. DCI has been described as having "a knack for creating grassroots organizations and recruiting third party allies to advocate for a cause or an issue".

Axiom Strategies is one of the largest Republican political consulting firms in the United States. Founded in 2005 by Jeff Roe, who has been described as "Ted Cruz's Karl Rove", it has been described as a "mega firm" by industry professionals. Originally based in Kansas City, Missouri, it has thirteen offices across the country and approximately 150 full-time employees.

References

  1. ↑ "Home page". CGCN Group. Washington, D.C.: CGCN Group LLC. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 Grim, Ryan (14 June 2017). "GOP lobby shop courts black and Hispanic Democrats in vacuum left by liberal establishment". The Intercept. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  3. 1 2 Arnsdorf, Isaac (9 November 2016). "K Street poised for big business in GOP-run Washington". Politico . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  4. 1 2 "CGCN Group". Bloomberg LP . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Sherman, Jake (6 September 2016). "WSJ reporter Patrick O'Connor joining CGCN Group". Politico . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "Top Lobbyists 2013". The Hill . 30 October 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  7. ↑ McCarthy, Aoife (17 September 2007). "Suite Talk: Health care boost". Politico . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  8. ↑ "A rundown of the big financial service lobbyists". The New York Times . 8 June 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  9. 1 2 Arnsdorf, Isaac (24 January 2017). "Akin Gump, BHFS, Podesta Group top LDA ranking". Politico . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  10. 1 2 Kashino, Marisa M. (23 May 2011). "Sam Geduldig: 40 Under 40". Washingtonian . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  11. ↑ Arnsdorf, Isaac (20 December 2016). "One firm's take on doing business in Trump's Washington". Politico . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  12. ↑ "Top Lobbyists: Hired Guns". The Hill . 5 October 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  13. 1 2 Ackley, Kate (11 December 2013). "Gary Lytle begins long goodbye". Roll Call . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  14. 1 2 3 Wilson, Megan R. (27 May 2015). "K Street's gains felt at boutique firms". The Hill . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  15. ↑ Ho, Catherine (17 December 2015). "Inside the lobbying campaign to end the ban on crude oil exports". The Washington Post . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  16. ↑ "2015 Top Lobbying Firms" (PDF). Bloomberg Government. 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  17. ↑ Arnsdorf, Isaac (5 December 2016). "Saudis tap CGCN". Politico . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  18. ↑ Meyer, Theodoric (13 April 2017). "Ballard Partners snags Robert Wexler". Politico . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  19. ↑ Arnsdorf, Isaac (18 January 2017). "Sphere signs Sberbank". Politico . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  20. ↑ Meyer, Theodoric (10 April 2017). "Urologists fight over control of PAC". Politico . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  21. 1 2 Arnsdorf, Isaac (6 January 2017). "Jim Murphy to BakerHostetler". Politico . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  22. ↑ Cama, Timothy (15 February 2017). "Keystone pipeline builder signs lobbyist". The Hill . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  23. ↑ Jonathan Swan (26 March 2017). "Trump sees Black Caucus as potential policy ally". Axios. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  24. 1 2 Wilson, Megan R. (20 October 2017). "Boom times: Lobbyists riding high in the Trump era". The Hill . Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  25. 1 2 Meyer, Theodoric; Levine, Marianne (23 January 2018). "Lobbying firms report a strong first year under Trump". Politico . Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  26. ↑ Czarnecki, Sean (January 23, 2019). "CGCN Group ends relationship with Saudi Arabia". PR Week . Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  27. 1 2 Roll Call (Congress): K Street’s CGCN Group picks up big names from Definers
  28. ↑ "Our partners". CGCN.com. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  29. ↑ The Hill: Republican lobbying firms riding high despite uncertainty of 2020 race
  30. 1 2 Ackley, Kate (2 January 2013). "K Street Files: Clark Lytle, Thorn Run Add New Partners". Roll Call . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  31. ↑ "Sam Geduldig". Salina Journal . 15 October 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  32. ↑ Ackley, Kate (7 March 2017). "Top K Street campaign donors already writing checks for 2018". Roll Call . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  33. ↑ "Best in the business: Hired guns". The Hill . 24 April 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  34. 1 2 3 Ackley, Kate (18 April 2011). "Boehner aide exiting for K Street". Roll Call . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  35. ↑ Burr, Thomas; Canham, Matt (17 November 2010). "Bennett may head lobbying group". Salt Lake Tribune . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  36. ↑ Wilson, Megan R. (11 December 2014). "Thune aide heads to GOP lobby shop". The Hill . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  37. ↑ Sherman, Jake; Palmer, Anna (10 December 2015). "Top McCarthy aide heading to K Street". Politico . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  38. ↑ Arnsdorf, Isaac (8 November 2016). "Koch's Spain to CGCN". Politico . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  39. ↑ Meyer, Theodoric (15 May 2017). "CGCN hires three". Politico . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  40. ↑ "Michael Catanzaro". InsideGov.com. Retrieved 5 August 2017.[ permanent dead link ]
  41. ↑ Cook, Nancy; Restuccia, Andrew (5 July 2017). "Inside the White House's policymaking juggernaut". Politico . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  42. ↑ Lipton, Eric (11 November 2016). "Trump campaigned against lobbyists, but now they're on his transition team". The New York Times . Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  43. ↑ "Trump energy adviser, fossil fuel champion, resigning". The Associated Press . 17 April 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  44. ↑ Meyer, Theodoric; Levine, Marianne (17 April 2018). "Catanzaro returns to CGCN". Politico . Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  45. ↑ Cama, Timothy; Green, Miranda. "Top Trump energy adviser resigns". The Hill . Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  46. ↑ Tamborrino, Kelsey (November 30, 2018). "What awaits Trump at the G-20". Politico . Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  47. ↑ RollCall Congress: K Street’s CGCN Group picks up big names from Definers
  48. ↑ Meyer, Theodoric (September 4, 2019). "Definers tries to reboot after Facebook oppo research controversy". Politico . Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  49. ↑ Politico: Crapo aide heads to K Street
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.