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In just over two years since its launch, MAD Global continues to expand its footprint and widen its influence. The bipartisan public affairs firm was launched at the start of 2022 by longtime political operative and public affairs expert Mike DuHaime, a veteran of Mercury Public Affairs. Among a number of notable career achievements, DuHaime served as lead strategist for Gov. Chris Christie’s 2009 and 2013 elections. He remains a key advisor to the former governor – who also serves on the firm’s Advisory Board.

Last month, MAD announced the acquisition of Millennial Strategies, launching the firm’s expansion into New York – joining New Jersey and Ohio as the third state in which it has opened full-time operations. The firm also has a presence in Pennsylvania and Washington state.

“This is a significant milestone for the firm as we continue to grow our influence since launching just two years ago,” said DuHaime in an August press release.

“Our acquisition of Millennial Strategies not only expands our East Coast footprint, but also boosts our reach and expertise in the New York metropolitan market,” said Laura Matos, MAD Global partner.

With a team of professionals who have worked at the highest level of politics, government and journalism, the firm provides solutions for clients that span a wide range of industries including health care, energy, sports, tech and more. Those services include crisis communications, public relations, public affairs campaign management, government affairs, thought leadership and much more.

CEO catch-up

NJBIZ recently caught up with DuHaime for a wide-ranging discussion, starting with how 2024 is going for the firm.

“So far, it’s been great,” DuHaime said. “We’re a young firm. We’re only two-and-a-half years old. And I started it basically by myself. Two years ago, there was one person. Now, we are up to about 15 people. So, the growth has been, and 2024 has been, great for a number of reasons.”

DuHaime first cited the addition of Justin Braz, a former key aide to Gov. Phil Murphy, who he says has been doing a fantastic job since joining at the start of the year.

“We’ve added a few other staffers during the course of the year – and have also added the New York firm,” he continued. “So, we’ve really doubled the size of the firm – this year compared to what it was in 2023. And I feel that’s because we’ve got great people that were already here. We have a great culture as well. We do good work for our clients – public relations, lobbying, crisis management, and other types of work that we do. If you do good work and you have good people, thankfully – some success follows. And we’ve been able to grow pretty quickly in a short period of time.”

Asked about how the firm approaches growth, DuHaime said it goes back to hiring decisions. “At the end of the day, I think everybody in this business and probably in other businesses would agree – if you hire good people, things tend to go well,” DuHaime explained. “And if you make mistakes in hiring, things tend to go poorly. It’s probably the same in almost any line of work. And we have hired great people who do really good work. They are trusted people who have worked at either a high level in government or in journalism or in business.”

DuHaime said hiring good people is something the firm takes seriously – noting a no jerks policy. “We like to work together. We are good folks,” said DuHaime. “They tend to be good people outside of the office as well. And that’s the kind of culture we are trying to build.”

On the thought process of the New York expansion, he noted that a lot of problems that companies have do not stop at the Hudson or Delaware rivers. “Methodically, what we are building is the ability to do New York and New Jersey,” he said. “We have an office in Pennsylvania. I think our next expansions will be in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.”

That begins to form a contiguous area with hubs for the firm to serve its clients through the different states, with DuHaime – who has long ties to national politics and government and several multistate clients already – also mentioning Washington, D.C., as a future area of expansion.

“If you can do the work in states that are contiguous, it’s going to be helpful,” he explained. “A lot of times, if a company has a problem in Trenton – they probably have the same problem in Albany and the same problem in Harrisburg. And if you have some experience and you do a good job for a company, they will trust you in other geographies as well. Just like they will trust you in other disciplines. If we do a good job on a lobbying front, they will trust us on public relations – and vice versa. If you help somebody through a crisis, they will often come back to you for other problems that they have.”

Growth trends

DuHaime said growth trends for the firm follow the state and national economies. “Energy is big – definitely a place where we play an awful lot, and have a fair amount of expertise,” he said. “Health care is another place where we have an awful lot of work.”

He also mentioned technology in everything from IT to social media platforms to car share platforms and more.

In short, the firm covers a lot of areas. “What I try to do is take what we have learned from politics and journalism – and how do you apply those skill sets,” DuHaime explained. “If you can understand how you can move public opinion; and how public opinion matters to the decision makers; and understand how decision makers make decisions – because you have been in those rooms with decision makers; and how all those decisions affect business outcomes – you can really help clients achieve their ends.”

But he stressed that to do so, firm leaders need to understand those key pieces.

“So, you really have to understand a person’s business. You really have to understand how to shape and move or react to public opinion. And you have to understand how decision makers make decisions,” he continued. “Most of the people that work at my firm have been at some portion on those three spokes. They have either been with the decision makers. Or they have been the ones changing public opinion. Or they have been on the business side – or all three.”

Doing business in New Jersey has been “pretty good,” DuHaime said. “When I have needed help from the state on certain issues, I have been able to get it, which is good,” he said. “As a small business owner, there’s so much to do beyond the client work – just to make sure that you are dealing with payroll; dealing with HR; dealing with issues. The state has been good in terms of answering questions. I wish we had lower taxes like everybody else. But for the most part, when I have had a question as a small business owner – having nothing to do with the kind of business we run – I have been able to basically get answers and process things without any trouble.”

Changing times

He said the business has changed and so has his role. “Me, personally, I do less and less pure politics and more and more on the business and nonprofit side of things,” said DuHaime. “For me, it has been learning the business side – like how do you achieve business outcomes. It’s not the same as having – like Nov. 3, somebody wins and somebody loses, and you move on to the next one. It’s much more nuanced in terms of making sure that you understand what’s important to the client; what’s helping the client achieve their business objectives.”

Also in this issue:

Dale Florio, who established Princeton Public Affairs Group in 1987, sits down with NJBIZ to discuss the organization’s sustained success, industry trends, what’s on the horizon and more. Click here for more.

Another change he noted is the increasingly combative political climate. “The vitriol is so real in politics. It makes it very hard to be somebody who works and compromise and works across the aisle,” he explained.

DuHaime also cited the bygone era of regional alliances when opposing parties would join forces on non-partisan issues important to their districts and states. “So much stuff has become so partisan now – I think that impacts the willingness for people to work together,” he continued. “Working together in a bipartisan way was always seen as a very good thing to the electorate. Now, sometimes, that kind of work is frowned upon by primary voters. And I think that affects the elected officials who are the ones making those decisions.”

But DuHaime said he and his firm continue to try to work through this overheated political environment and bridge the political divides and bring both sides together – to solve big policy challenges and deliver positive outcomes for clients.

As the conversation came to a close, he discussed the next steps and goals for the nascent firm.

“Growth – but not for growth’s sake,” said DuHaime. “We’d like to grow a little bit bigger. I think we’ve got a few more hires to come in New Jersey. And like I said, I think we’re going to grow in Pennsylvania and then in West Virginia. Where we already exist, we plan to grow – so New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and then, specifically, we then want to connect in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.”

“And just continuing to grow that team in New Jersey,” said DuHaime. “New Jersey’s our home and it’s our heartbeat – when you have folks like Laura [Matos] and Justin [Braz], and Bill Hildebrand, Emily D’Alberto. We have a really good, core group in New Jersey – so growing that core group is really important.”

Nodding to the upcoming presidential and gubernatorial elections over the next two Novembers, DuHaime stressed that it is especially important to have such a trusted team. “There’s going to be a lot of change. And actually, that’s good for our industry, generally – if you are good, not just our company,” he explained. “But when you are calm in change – and we have a presidential election and then a gubernatorial election next year. There’s a lot of change coming. And being poised no matter what happens – and being calm in the storm really helps from a business point-of-view.”