Chuck Dohrenwend
Managing Director
Chuck Dohrenwend primarily works with private equity investment professionals and portfolio company leadership teams to optimize their investment and value-creation strategies through strategic communications. He collaborates with executive and communications teams to develop and implement highly effective communications programs for a range of stakeholders, primarily during pivotal events such as mergers and acquisitions, leadership transitions, crises, restructurings, investments and divestments. He also works with publicly traded companies on M&A, crisis management, restructurings and executive transitions. Additionally, Chuck is a member of H/Advisors Abernathy’s Leadership Team and helps ensure that the firm’s operations and teams align with the firm’s client-centric growth strategy.
Prior to joining Abernathy in 2004, Chuck held communications positions at Broadgate Consultants, Nasdaq-listed Knight Capital Group (now part of Virtu Financial) and Edelman.
Representative Experience
• Multi-engagement communications advisory to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), Madison Dearborn Partners, Eurazeo and JMI Equity, among other private equity investment firms of various investment strategies and sizes
• EVO Payments on its $4 billion acquisition by Global Payments
• Complex financial restructurings, including the City of Detroit’s Chapter 9, Dex Media’s Chapter 11 and post-emergence combination with YP Holdings, TOMS in its transfer of ownership from Bain Capital to creditors and Travelport on its agreement with an Ad Hoc Group of Lenders during the initial lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic
• SJW Group on its $1.1 billion merger with Connecticut Water Service, a process in which both publicly traded water utility companies received separate, unsolicited acquisition proposals and multi-state regulatory scrutiny
• Shuanghui International (now known as WH Group) on its $4.7 billion acquisition of Smithfield Foods, which at the time was the largest acquisition of a U.S. domiciled and listed company by a Chinese company
• A global biopharmaceutical company on executive communications, ESG initiatives, philanthropy and public commentary surrounding topical socioeconomic issues
• Numerous public and private companies on executive transitions, staff relocations and reductions and various crisis matters
Education
• College of the Holy Cross, B.A. in History
• Universidad de Sevilla, Academic Year of Study
• London School of Economics, Hansard Society Scholars