Matt McKenna

A native of Bozeman, Montana, McKenna worked on several statewide political campaigns early in his career and worked in various capacities for Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, Georgia Senator Max Cleland, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and Alaska Governor Tony Knowles. He worked on several campaigns with fellow Montanan and Democratic political adviser Jim MessinaJim MessinaJim Messina is an American Democratic political adviser who spent years on the staff of Montana Senator Max Baucus, served as White House deputy chief of staff from 2009 to 2011, and managed Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. He then founded the strategic consulting firm The Messina Group (renamed Fortius Global in October 2026), which provides campaign and strategic advice to political parties in several countries, including the UK Conservative Party, and to companies.Open the full entry.⁠[1][1][1][2]

McKenna served as communications director for Montana Democrat Jon Tester, both in his successful 2006 campaign for the US Senate and in his first Senate term; during the 110th Congress he was communications director in Senator Tester’s office.⁠[1][3][3][3]

From 2007 to 2015, McKenna handled communications, media, public relations and reputation management for the Clinton family, the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative, serving as spokesperson and senior adviser to former President Bill Clinton, and was involved in the preparations for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.⁠[4][5][4]

On June 24, 2008, after Hillary Clinton withdrew from the Democratic presidential primary, McKenna issued a statement as Bill Clinton’s spokesperson saying that Clinton was committed to doing whatever he could and was asked to do to ensure that Barack Obama became the next president, the former president’s first statement of support for Obama since his wife left the race.⁠[6][6][6][6][6]

After leaving the Clinton team, McKenna joined Uber to head North American communications; he joined while former Obama adviser David Plouffe ran Uber’s policy and communications team. Plouffe’s successor, Rachel Whetstone, went on to shake up the policy and communications team, with a number of staffers departing or being laid off; by March 2016, McKenna was among those who had left.⁠[4][7][7][7][7]

McKenna co-founded the crisis communications firm Greenbrier with Lane Kasselman and served as its managing partner, helping individuals and corporations avoid, manage and recover from crisis and advising clients facing complex image, marketing, branding, media, legal and political challenges. Greenbrier says it was founded in 2015, and it was acquired by Jim Messina’s The Messina GroupThe Messina GroupThe Messina Group (TMG) is a strategic consulting firm founded in Washington, D.C., in 2013 by the American political adviser Jim Messina. It applies campaign-style data analytics, communications and coalition strategies to political campaigns, policy advocacy and corporate matters, and its clients include party leaders in several countries and technology companies. On October 14, 2026, the firm was renamed Fortius Global.Open the full entry in late 2017.⁠[8][5][5][1][9][9]

On January 17, 2018, The Messina Group announced its merger with Greenbrier, led by McKenna and Kasselman, which would thereafter be known as “Greenbrier, a Messina Group company.”⁠[8][8][8]

McKenna joined The Levinson Group, the communications consultancy founded by Molly Levinson in 2013, as a senior adviser.⁠[4][4]

McKenna has advised corporate and philanthropic organizations such as The Carlyle Group, lululemon athletica and WilliamsWorks on issues including executive communications, crisis management, acquisitions, lawsuits and the hiring and firing of CEOs.⁠[5]