K Street Files: Ogilvy Lobbyists Head for Exits; BGR Taps Jo Maney
Ogilvy Government Relations is losing Drew Maloney, John O’Neill and Elena Tompkins.
Maloney, according to news reports, will serve as an adviser to the Republican National Committee. He has been a top K Street adviser to the Mitt Romney presidential campaign.
Meanwhile, Capitol Counsel announced today that it had snagged O’Neill, who was policy director and counsel in the Senate Republican Whip’s office when former Sen. Trent Lott (Miss.) held the post. O’Neill also previously served as tax counsel to the Finance Committee under then-Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
“As one of the preeminent tax lobbying firms in Washington, Capitol Counsel has a reputation for delivering strong results for top corporations, trade associations and coalitions,” O’Neill said in a press release announcing his move.
This is not the first set of big departures for Ogilvy. In 2010, Andrew Rosenberg and Chris Lamond departed the shop to form Thorn Run Partners. That was on the heels of the exit of three GOP lobbyists — James Jay Baker, John Green and Stewart Hall — who set up shop as Crossroad Strategies.
Ogilvy’s lobbying revenue had rebounded recently after those departures. It came in No. 7 on this year’s Roll Call survey of the Top 25 lobbying shops and reported that its revenue for 2011 was up 14 percent from the previous year.
Ogilvy GOP lobbyist Wayne Berman was not immediately available for comment.
Setting Up Shop
Jo Maney, who logged 14 years as a House staffer, is joining BGR Public Relations as vice president. The former communications director for the House Rules Committee now will advise corporations, trade associations and foreign governments on their messaging.
“Jo Maney is the best at what she does,” Jeff Birnbaum, president of BGR Public Relations, said in a statement.
Haley Barbour, BGR’s founding partner, added: “Jo has a remarkable reputation in political and legislative circles. She’s a star when it comes to devising campaigns that lead to changes in legislation, regulation and policy.”
Submit K Street Files tips here.
