The Honorable Richard Gephardt is President and Chief Executive Officer of Gephardt Group
Before Gephardt Group, Congressman Gephardt served as Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and has been one of the nation's most respected politicians for much of the last two decades.
Six degrees of ... Dick Gephardt?
Politico
July 24, 2008
By Patrick O’Connor
Kevin Bacon has nothing on Dick Gephardt.
Everyone, it seems, has worked for the Missouri Democrat at some point in his or her career.
And while the former majority leader may never make it to the White House himself, many of his old aides are now poised to get there without him.
Gephardt alumni are all over the Barack Obama campaign. Former Gephardt aide David Plouffe is Obama’s campaign chief. Bill Burton is Obama’s spokesman. Jeff Berman oversaw delegate strategy for Obama, and Matt Rodriguez is now the candidate’s western regional director. Erik Smith, John DelCecato and Cassandra Butts are all outside advisers for the Obama campaign.
Best in the business: Hired Guns
The Hill
April 24, 2008
By The Hill Staff
After Democrats took control of Congress, they took control of K Street. Often junior partners during the years of Republican rule, Democratic lobbyists became the faces of their firms in 2007. Even as Democratic congressional leaders sought to break the bond between lobbyists and lawmakers, some advocates took the plunge and opened new shops. By year’s end, several had built books of business worth millions of dollars.
The Hill’s annual list of top lobbyists reflects the greater importance Democratic lobbyists play, while not forgetting the Republicans in town who maintain a major role in crafting legislation, particularly in the Senate, where voting margins are so close. Today’s list names the best “hired guns” and corporate lobbyists. To compile our list, we talked to key congressional aides and lobbyists themselves.
Dick Gephardt, Gephardt Group. The former House Democratic leader also lobbies for DLA Piper, representing clients like Turkey. His own shop, which includes his son, Matthew, and daughter, Christine, has lobbied for Boeing and Peabody Energy.
Gephardt has plenty to smile about
Former Rep. Gephardt redefines himself
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
October 28, 2007
By Deirdre Shesgreen
The former House Democratic leader and two-time presidential contender is in demand as a lobbyist and political wise-man, playing a quiet but key role in some of the hottest issues of the day.
For Gephardt, a New Career in Lobbying—and a Lot More
Richard A. Gephardt used to be the Democratic leader in the House and a presidential candidate. Now he's Gephardt Inc.
The Washington Post
July 31, 2007
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
The 14-term congressman from St. Louis retired from Congress in 2005 and went off to do what senior lawmakers do these days—lobby. Or that's what it looked like at the time. In fact, he has done a lot more than that.
Gephardt works for DLA Piper, one of the world's largest law firms; Goldman Sachs, one of Wall Street's richest investment banks; FTI, a leading corporate turnaround adviser; and Gephardt Group, a consultancy he started with his two children.
Hillary Chooses Gephardt as Economic Advisor
Richard Gephardt Appears on CNBC
July 20, 2007
Candidates are scrambling for CEO endorsements and Hillary Clinton looks to be Wall Street's sweetheart. Richard Gephardt, Gephardt Group CEO sits down with CNBC's Maria Bartiromo.
...Labor's Ideal Deal
New Labor Strikes Deals With 'Private Equity Guys'
The Washington Post
June 10, 2007
By Dale Russakoff and David Cho
A model deal in the eyes of the labor movement was a buyout of three faltering Boeing factories by Onex Corp. of Toronto. Onex managing director Nigel S. Wright said his team told workers exactly what it wanted from them: a reduction of 1,700 of 10,300 jobs, elimination of long-standing work rules and a 10 percent pay cut. The Machinists and United Auto Workers unions named their price: "skin in the game," or a share of the profits when the company went public. Both sides signed off in June 2005.
The rebound came far sooner than anticipated. Revenue soared as the new company, Spirit AeroSystems, won contracts for the new Boeing 787 and also from Sikorsky Aircraft and Airbus. When Spirit went public in November 2006, workers who took the pay cuts each got checks averaging $30,000 plus 1,000 shares of Spirit stock, now worth $34,000. Another beneficiary was the Machinists' pension fund, which was an investor in Onex all along.
Political Strategies Thomas J. O'Donnell Joins Gephardt Group as Executive Vice President
Former Chief of Staff Once Again Teams Up with Gephardt
For immediate release
Washington DC–June 4, 2007–Thomas J. O'Donnell has joined Gephardt Group, LLC as Executive Vice President, it was announced today by Richard A. "Dick" Gephardt, President and CEO of Gephardt Group.
This move reunites Gephardt with his former chief of staff and one of his closest political advisors. For nearly a decade, Gephardt and O'Donnell worked side-by-side on many of the major political and legislative battles of the 1990s.
In announcing the appointment, Gephardt said, "I'm delighted to be working once again with Tom, whose political talents and experience will be invaluable to our growth and development. Tom has a deep understanding of the political and legislative landscape in and outside of Washington and he brings the credentials and skills to help lead the Gephardt Group for years to come."
O'Donnell formerly worked as a partner for Doak, Carrier, O'Donnell and Goldman (DCO). At DCO, O'Donnell served as a key strategist in some of the most hard fought races in recent memory, most notably: Sherrod Brown's Senate race in 2006, Antonio Villaraigosa's L.A. mayoral race in 2005, Gray Davis' California Gubernatorial races in 1998 and 2002, and Congressman Chris Van Hollen's Maryland congressional race in 2002. Prior to DCO, O'Donnell served as Richard A. Gephardt's chief of staff from 1989 through 1997 while Gephardt was the Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. A Brooklyn native, O'Donnell worked on key House committees while earning a PhD from American University. He taught at American and at Georgetown University before moving full time to Capitol Hill.
Former Majority Leader Gephardt Joins FTI as Consultant on Government, Business Strategy, Public Policy and Labor Relations
To Consult With FTI Clients on a Broad Range of Business, Governmental, Labor, International, Advocacy, and Communications Issues
For immediate release
Baltimore, MD–January 18, 2007–FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN), the leading global consulting firm to organizations confronting the critical legal, financial and reputational issues that shape their futures, announced today that former Democratic Majority Leader, Dick Gephardt, would become a consultant for and advisor to the company through an exclusive agreement with his firm, Gephardt Group, LLC. In addition, he will serve on the advisory board of Financial Dynamics, FTI’s strategic and financial communications services subsidiary.
With the addition of Representative Gephardt, FTI significantly enhances its ability to serve clients in the critical areas of government, public policy, employee and labor relations and international affairs. Resolution of issues in these areas, and the strategic communication of such resolutions to a broad range of constituencies, has the potential to impact each client throughout all of FTI’s business practices. The perspective that Representative Gephardt brings as a result of his extensive experience and deep relationships throughout the U.S. and around the globe provides FTI clients with a unique resource through which to analyze their businesses, issues and strategies and then communicate them to the marketplace.
Commenting on this move, Jack Dunn, FTI's president and chief executive officer, said, "With the addition of Dick Gephardt, we continue to execute on two key aspects of our strategy. First, we continue our commitment to provide our clients with the very best in intellectual capital to support their critical business needs, particularly those in labor intensive sectors such as automotive and healthcare. Second, on a very real-time basis, we are adding highly valuable capabilities in the areas of change management and innovative labor relations, as clients strive to optimize their human capital in this era of mobile labor sourcing and a changing political environment. For this company and these times, I can’t think of a better person than Dick Gephardt to help forge our direction in these areas."
Dick Gephardt added, "I am excited to team with FTI and draw on the expertise, experience and reach of such a respected global market leader. FTI has a strong record of achieving results for its clients. We're extremely proud of the prospects of integrating Gephardt Group's capabilities with such a highly regarded firm."
How Gephardt Brokered Ford Management Change
How Dick Gephardt convinced Boeing's Mulally to take Ford's top job.
Newsweek
Web Exclusive
September 8, 2006
By Keith Naughton
In mid-July, Boeing executive Alan Mulally received an unexpected phone call from someone who had recently become a trusted adviser: former House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt. The career pol asked the career Boeing man: would you be interested in running Ford Motor Co.? Mulally was shocked and more than slightly skeptical. He is, after all, no car guy. Mulally spent 37 years at Boeing, rising to the top of its commercial airline division. Besides, Bill Ford Jr., great-grandson of Henry, already held the CEO job at the automaker, which was still firmly controlled by its founding family. But Gephardt—who'd also recently become a confidant of Bill Ford—insisted. "This is not just about you or Ford, it's about the country" Gephardt told Mulally. "It won't hurt you to go talk to them."
So began a whirlwind courtship that culminated Sept. 5 with Mulally and Bill Ford walking onto a stage in Dearborn, Mich., to announce that the fly guy was to become Ford's new driver. That dramatic handover never would have happened if Gephardt hadn't played matchmaker, a role he described publicly for the first time in an interview with NEWSWEEK. It is the story of how a labor-friendly politician grew close enough to two of America's top manufacturing executives to convince them of just how much they needed each other. "Having worked so much with Alan, I felt confident he was the kind of person Ford needed," says Gephardt. "I described in detail to Bill Ford what Alan did at Boeing."