Jim Messina's Biography

JIM MESSINA

CEO, THE MESSINA GROUP

Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff and President Barack Obama’s 2012 Campaign Manager

Jim Messina is arguably one of the world’s most successful political advisors. The mastermind behind former-President Obama and then-Vice President Biden’s 2012 re-election campaign, Jim Messina seized the reins on what Bloomberg Businessweek dubbed “the highest-wattage crash course in executive management ever undertaken”—and succeeded, earning the President another term in the White House. With the guidance of technology’s foremost leaders, Jim abandoned every step of a traditional presidential campaign and merged technology and politics in a way that was both unpredictable and unprecedented.

Jim’s strategies established the modern presidential campaign—Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt called it “the best-run campaign ever.”  The American Association of Political Consultants later crowned him the Campaign Strategist of the Year (2013).

Messina is among the most sought after legislative DC insiders, having worked in the Obama-Biden administration as Deputy Chief of Staff where he worked closely with both former-President Obama and President-elect Joe Biden on the passage of the historic Affordable Care Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act , which has been credited with saving the U.S. economy, and the landmark repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” Jim earned the nickname “The Fixer” as he worked closely with President Obama and Vice President Biden and Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to pass the Affordable Care Act. For over twenty years, Jim served as Chief of Staff for various Senate and House offices on Capitol Hill where he worked to pass key legislation such as multiple tax cut bills, the Medicare prescription drug bill, and several trade agreements.

Since then he has gone on to elect over a dozen Presidents and Prime Ministers on five continents including: the UK’s Theresa May and David Cameron, Mexico’s Enrique Peña Nieto, Argentina’s Mauricio Macri, Italy’s Matteo Renzi and in 2016 helped Spain’s President Mariano Rajoy win a surprising re-election margin.

In 2013, Messina launched The Messina Group. In this role, Messina provides strategic consulting to businesses around the world.  The firm has been involved in winning public policy campaigns on five continents.  Clients include Uber, Airbnb, Google, Delta Air Lines, Hutchison Whampoa, and over 300 others.

Previously, Jim served as Deputy Chief of Staff in President Barack Obama’s White House, where he was integral to the passage of the historic health care bill, the economic stimulus act credited with saving the US economy, and the landmark repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”

Messina continues to advise and guide Democratic candidates and organizations at all levels, as well as providing insight on news outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, Bloomberg, BBC and others.

Jim serves on the boards of Organizing for Action (OFA), Virgin HyperloopOne, Google’s Advanced Technology Panel, Vectra.ai, Pillpack, Patient Safety Movement Foundation, LanzaTech, Hyp3r, the United States Soccer Foundation, and the Montana Land Reliance.

Karl Rove's Biography

Karl Rove, an iconic political strategist and one of the most sought-after political pundits of our time, is best known for his provocative and robust knowledge of the major political issues of the day.

Rove served as Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush from 2000–2007 and Deputy Chief of Staff from 2004–2007. At the White House he oversaw the Offices of Strategic Initiatives, Political Affairs, Public Liaison, and Intergovernmental Affairs and was Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, coordinating the White House policy-making process.

Rove was described by author and columnist Michael Barone in U.S. News & World Report as “…unique…no Presidential appointee has ever had such a strong influence on politics and policy, and none is likely to do so again anytime soon.” Washington Post Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Broder wrote that Rove was a master political strategist whose “game has always been long term…and he plays it with an intensity and attention to detail that few can match.” Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard, called him “the greatest political mind of his generation and probably of any generation… He knows history, understands the moods of the public, and is a visionary on matters of public policy.”

Mr. Rove writes a weekly op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, appears frequently on the Fox News Channel, and is the author of the New York Times best seller, Courage and Consequence. His latest book is The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters.  

A Colorado native, Rove lives in Austin, Texas, where he teaches at the University of Texas at Austin and serves on the Texas State History Museum and McDonald Observatory boards.