Matt Reid Joins Abernathy MacGregor to Lead Los Angeles Office

April 6, 2021

Ian Campbell Continues in his Role as Vice Chairman of the Firm

We’re excited to announce that Matt Reid has joined the firm as Managing Director and Head of the Los Angeles office. He brings significant experience in corporate and financial communications, crisis management and public affairs to his new role. In addition to heading the Los Angeles office, Matt will also serve as a senior executive in our growing public affairs practice and will help grow the firm’s presence across the country, including the Western United States. Ian Campbell, founder of the Los Angeles office, will continue to serve as Vice Chairman, advising clients full-time on a range of critical reputational issues, and as a member of our executive team.

“We are thrilled to have Matt join Abernathy MacGregor to lead our Los Angeles office,” said Tom Johnson, CEO. “His expertise in public affairs, crisis and litigation builds upon our firm’s strength in these practice areas, both in Los Angeles and across the country. In addition, his track record of building and leading collaborative teams ensures we will continue the great work of Ian Campbell, who 23 years ago launched the Los Angeles office and our West Coast presence, with a great record of success through the years. We are grateful Ian is continuing to actively serve our firm and our clients as Vice Chairman. Ian will work closely with Matt to ensure a smooth transition.”

Matt joins Abernathy from Sard Verbinnen & Co (“Sard”), where he was Managing Director and co-head of its Los Angeles office. During his time at Sard, Matt represented Fortune 500 clients across a variety of industries including technology, life sciences and educational institutions and led high-stakes assignments including M&A, activist defense, executive transitions, crises, regulatory and litigation matters. Prior to joining Sard in 2013, Matt led external affairs at BSA | The Software Alliance, focusing on public affairs and global advocacy on issues involving intellectual property, privacy, cybersecurity and cloud computing on behalf of the software industry. Earlier in his career, Matt founded the global public affairs practice at Waggener Edstrom, managing assignments for major corporate, non-profit and government entities, including Microsoft, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mercy Corps, Texas Instruments and the Portland Trailblazers. He also held senior roles in numerous high profile political campaigns throughout California.

“Matt is an accomplished strategic communications executive across a wide range of practice areas, which will serve him well at Abernathy where clients come to us for a variety of critical stakeholder communications needs,” added Mr. Campbell. “His expertise in public affairs in particular is a great West Coast complement to the growing practice we launched in Washington D.C. two years ago. I am confident Matt will fit in seamlessly with our firm and that our clients will immediately benefit from his extensive experience.”

“I am excited to join the talented team at Abernathy and I look forward to helping build upon the firm’s significant growth and momentum of the last few years,” said Mr. Reid. “I have long admired Abernathy’s focus and dedication to helping clients confront major reputational opportunities and challenges. The firm’s ability to deliver highly customized and holistic communications programs and its culture of collaboration match well with my own belief in the power of teams and my focus on bringing together high-performing groups to meet big challenges for clients.”