Brian Kennedy

Brian Kennedy is a Senior Managing Director and serves as Head of the Americas for the firm’s Strategic Communications division, overseeing nearly 250 multi-disciplinary communications professionals across 18 geographies in Canada, the U.S. and Latin America.

With more than 20 years of experience managing high-profile strategic communications matters, Mr. Kennedy is best known for his expertise in crisis management, when clients are faced with complex communications challenges associated with operational and environmental incidents, transactions, shareholder activism, major litigation, Congressional and Federal government investigations, product recalls, fraud, and other threats to reputation and enterprise value. His current and former clients include numerous Fortune 100 energy, industrial, chemical, manufacturing and retail companies.

Prior to his tenure leading the Americas, Mr. Kennedy led the Energy & Natural Resources practice, which he started when he joined the firm in 2009 and grew to become the largest strategic communications practice of its kind in the Americas. Notably, during that time, he served as chief spokesman and communications strategist for the global offshore drilling contractor, Transocean, during the BP Macondo spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and the multidistrict litigation in federal court that followed.

Before joining FTI Consulting, Mr. Kennedy served in a variety of communications and public policy roles in Congress, including Press Secretary for then-Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, John A. Boehner (R-OH), Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Communications for the House Committee on Resources, and chief spokesman for several crisis-related task forces created by the Speaker of the House. During his time in Congress, he worked developed and executed nationwide communications, coalition and national media affairs strategies around major legislative and regulatory reform initiatives, public policy crises, natural disaster response, and oversight committee investigations.

In 2015, Mr. Kennedy was recognized by the M&A Advisor on its annual “40 Under 40” list and, previously, by the National Journal as one of the “Power Players to Watch” inside the Washington beltway. He lives in Washington, D.C. and serves on the board of directors of A Wider Circle, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to lifting people out of poverty.