A proud Massachusetts native, Matt Irish has an intimate understanding of the inner workings of his home state, including its government operations. Before joining O’Neill and Associates, he served as chief of staff, legislative aide, and staff director in the Massachusetts State Senate for nearly a decade. Today, he leans on this in-depth knowledge to expertly manage O’Neill and Associates’ government relations practice. As part of our NASL Member Spotlight series, we recently visited with Matt about his impressive career. Read the Q&A below:
O’Neill and Associates is a full-service government, crisis, and public relations firm. Tell us
more about your role as vice chair and what it entails.
My role as vice chair of the state and local practice entails developing and implementing public affairs strategies to help clients reach their goals on the municipal and state levels. I also spend alot of time focusing on growing our company and large-scale business development initiatives. In addition, I manage our team on the ground in Boston.
As part of the senior leadership team, you merge your strengths in government affairs,
business development, and public relations. What do you believe is the key to your
continued success?
Our success stems from assembling and maintaining a strong team of professionals from various backgrounds who have excelled in their respective fields. With the exception of our CEO, we come from staffer backgrounds on the city, state, or federal levels. As a firm, we are committed to providing the highest level of service from the first day of engagement to project completion. This has led to many long-term clients, some well into their second decade. Finally, maintaining meaningful relationships with legislators and their staffs has aided us immensely.
You’ve represented notable clients throughout your career, from Pepsi and Apple to GM and Caesars. Do you have specific industries or services that you consider your specialties?
We tend to be generalists, focusing on federal, state, and/or municipal government relations services. The longer we work with clients, the more we learn about them and their industries’ unique challenges. This approach has allowed us to grow our relationships and expertise in various fields. Several of our firm’s professionals have extensive backgrounds in transportation and infrastructure. We also work in healthcare, higher education, technology, financial services, energy and real estate development, and for several trade associations in the Commonwealth. Some clients take advantage of every service, while others focus more on state and local work.
You are a member of NASL’s board of directors and committee for long-range planning and lobbying. How has your involvement with NASL benefited your career and, by extension, your clients?
NASL has allowed me to develop personal and professional relationships with the best state lobbyists in the country. And it’s afforded opportunities for O’Neill and Associates to grow our business. Tapping into the NASL network during the pandemic was particularly valuable. We had many clients who needed help in states where we may not typically work, and it was great to know who to call who would be trustworthy and effective.
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