Drew O’Brien, longtime senior aide to Secretary of State John Kerry during that politico's tenure in the Senate, has joined Weber Shandwick, where he will serve in the IPG unit's global corporate practice as executive vice president of global partnerships.
O’Brien begins the position later this month.
O’Brien joins Weber Shandwick from the State Department, where he was special representative for global partnerships in the U.S. Secretary of State’s Office of Global Partnerships. O’Brien, who was responsible for developing worldwide partnerships between public and private organizations — including mobilizing a global response to West Africa’s Ebola crisis — was appointed to that role in 2013.
Prior to that, O’Brien served as state director to Secretary Kerry while he was Senator of Massachusetts, first taking that post in 2003 and reprising it in 2007. O’Brien previously served as chief of staff to the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission, was a special assistant to the director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and was also the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Deputy Chancellor. Earlier in his career, O’Brien was special assistant to former Boston mayor Thomas Menino (and was later appointed executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services), and worked for Menino’s successful mayoral campaign in 1993.
At Weber Shandwick, O’Brien will work with public and private organizations around the world to create corporate social responsibility initiatives and develop partnerships that facilitate social impact and generate brand enhancement. He will also lead the agency’s initiatives with educational institutions. He will be based in Boston.
Weber Shandwick Global Corporate Practice chair Micho Spring in a statement said “there’s no one more qualified than Drew to help our corporate clients effectively realize their social and business objectives simultaneously.”
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