Brian J. Kennedy is a senior managing director in the FTI Strategic Communications practice and is based in Washington, DC. He serves as the practice’s Energy & Natural Resources industry leader in the Americas.
Experience
With more than a decade of public policy and strategic communications experience, Mr. Kennedy has served in several senior positions on Capitol Hill as advisor and spokesman for both Members of Congress and committees with a focus on energy policy. After spending six years in the office of U.S. Representative George Radanovich (R-CA) serving as communications director, Mr. Kennedy spent the latter years of his career on Capitol Hill as deputy chief of staff and communications director for the House Committee on Resources and as press secretary for the current Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner (R-OH).
At the Committee on Resources, Mr. Kennedy fulfilled the role of senior advisor to the committee chairman on all matters of policy, personnel, budget, communications, and strategy. He also led strategic communications efforts for the Speaker’s Task force For Affordable Natural Gas and the House Energy Action Team (HEAT). In the office of the House Republican Leader, Mr. Kennedy served as chief spokesman and liaison to the national media for the House Minority Leader and oversaw messaging initiatives on national priorities such as the War on Terror, energy, budget and tax policies.
In 2008, Mr. Kennedy became a senior vice president and founding member of the Washington, D.C. office of the Institute for Energy Research (IER), a not-for-profit foundation focused on the advancement of free market energy policy. He served as the Institute’s chief spokesman, appearing on local and national television and radio programs, and crafted analyses on the impacts of current and proposed energy policies.
Mr. Kennedy joined FTI Consulting in 2008 and has since driven strategic communications initiatives for leading energy companies and associations with a focus on the oil and gas industry. Building on his expertise in public affairs and media relations, Mr. Kennedy has developed extensive experience in crisis and litigation communications and has most recently applied his knowledge to a multi-disciplinary program for the global offshore drilling contractor Transocean following the April 2010 Macondo incident in the Gulf of Mexico. Since joining FTI Consulting, Mr. Kennedy has played a key role in developing comprehensive communications programs for clients such as Shell Oil Company, Halliburton, Range Resources and the Independent Petroleum Association of America.
In 2010, Mr. Kennedy was named one of Washington’s 20 “New Power Players” by National Journal.
Mr. Kennedy holds a B.A. in Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross.