Listen to this articleThe basics:
- MAD Global Strategy triples staff in a year, growing to 25
- NJ-based firm expands into Ohio, West Virginia, with D.C. on horizon
- Key hires include Matt Gould and Michelle Timoni; Justin Braz promoted to partner
- CEO DuHaime also discusses sectors creating buzz, gubernatorial race and more
This past year has been one of growth for bipartisan public affairs firm MAD Global Strategy, a firm established in 2022 by seasoned political strategist and public affairs expert Mike DuHaime. Notable developments for the Montclair-based firm include key hires and promotions, further expansion and much more.
MAD Global has operations in four states, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and West Virginia. NJBIZ recently spoke to DuHaime about the year so far, the latest happenings at the firm, plans for what’s next, political trends and more.
“It’s been great,” DuHaime said, when asked how 2025 has gone. “We’ve basically tripled in size in terms of headcount. We’ve gone from about eight people to almost 25 now in one year.
“So, I feel really good about that. And that’s across multiple geographies. We’ve grown in New Jersey. We’ve grown in Ohio. We’ve opened an office in West Virginia. We’ll soon be opening an office in Washington, D.C. That’s not done yet – but that’s going to happen soon. So, we can continue to grow.”
The right team
DuHaime stressed that if you hire good people, the business side takes care of itself.
Just last month, MAD Global added political and government affairs veteran Matt Gould as senior vice president, based in New Jersey, to help expand the firm’s government relations team. Gould most recently managed the Bramnick for Governor campaign. Before that he worked for the New Jersey Assembly Republicans for eight years.
Also last month, the firm promoted Justin Braz, a former key advisor to Gov. Phil Murphy who joined MAD Global in 2023, to partner. Braz oversees the firm’s Trenton lobbying operation.
In June, Michelle Timoni, a former senior account director for MikeWorldWide (MWW) who also worked in the Assembly Democratic office for several years, joined the firm as director. She is also part of the Trenton lobbying operation, focusing on government affairs and public affairs for clients.
In May, two other key team members with extensive experience in this space, Bill Hildebrand and Emily D’Alberto, were promoted. They have each been with the firm since 2022.
“Hire good people who do good work for clients. The reputation stays good – more people hire you and your current clients keep you,” said DuHaime. “So, at the end of the day, it’s about hiring good people who ultimately do good work.”
So, at the end of the day, it’s about hiring good people who ultimately do good work.
– Mike DuHaime, MAD Global Strategy CEO
He said he feels really good about the talent in place. “In Trenton, it starts with Justin [Braz] and Laura [Matos] – who are just great,” said DuHaime. Matos is a partner at MAD Global and was recently recognized as one of the 2025 NJBIZ Leading Women in Business. “Laura was the first person who joined me after I opened up. And Justin was a huge get.
“And then adding Michelle [Timoni] this year, who’s really got a great reputation in Trenton, both on the lobbying side and the public relations side; bringing on Matt Gould, who obviously has a great relationship on the Republican side. We already had Nancy [Santarsiero – director] there, who’s very good. So, we just continue to grow. But each one is a respected professional who can help us help our clients do a good job.”
DuHaime also noted that each new team member brings in a new dimension in terms of their personal expertise. “And that’s ultimately what’s really important,” said DuHaime. “We feel good about it. … But I think there’s more to come.”
Smart growth
Asked about the firm’s growth trajectory, DuHaime acknowledged that he didn’t foresee everything that’s happened.
“I bet if I thought three years ago what it would look like today, I probably wouldn’t have been as bullish,” said DuHaime. “I was fairly confident, again, that hiring the right people leads to this. We don’t grow for the sake of growing. We grow when there are the right people. I often say – I’m always hiring and I’m never hiring.
“I’m never hiring for the sake of hiring. But I’m always available to bring people in if there’s good talent who can help us. So, I think when you grow smartly – that means you’re not going to get kind of out over your skis, when it comes to like overhead.
“You got to make sure you can make payroll every two weeks. Running the business side, you have to be disciplined and have a smart financial architecture in place where you hire good people. They get compensated fairly and well. But the business, obviously, you have to make sure that it’s maintained strong as well.”
I’m never hiring for the sake of hiring. But I’m always available to bring people in if there’s good talent who can help us.
– Mike DuHaime, MAD Global Strategy CEO
He said while it may seem like a lot of growth quickly – that the approach has been methodical. And expansion is still on the agenda, especially for Washington.
“Yeah, it’s the right opportunity,” said DuHaime. “But I would say the two big ones coming up will be D.C. and Pennsylvania, ultimately. If you look at our strength, it’s really these contiguous states – from New York all the way to Ohio. We’ve got New York, New Jersey, Ohio and West Virginia. Pennsylvania is in the middle.
“We do some work in Pennsylvania. But we end up sometimes partnering with other firms that we’re close with because of my national experience. And also, Jai [Chabria – a partner who runs the Ohio operation] in Ohio, his national experience.
“Oftentimes, many of our clients are multi-state clients. So, we’re helping them in four, five, six states at the same time. Or they’re national in scope – where D.C. is the hub. We’re already kind of doing work in some of these states. It’s just a matter now of putting some roots down with somebody who can run the operation and do that. Those are the two that are up next.”
An office of mutual respect
From there, DuHaime spoke about the office.
“We take it very seriously,” he stressed. “The bipartisan piece is important to us. Mutual respect is important to us.”
The Roundup
Significant developments in lobbying and government affairs from around the state
He said that while leaders can’t force people to like each other, there is a focus on creating an atmosphere where the team all gets along and does indeed like each other.
“At the end of the day, you need to bring in people that are going to work well with others. Most of the people that work for me could do very well financially on their own. But they’re here because we can do something bigger together,” DuHaime explained. “And because, frankly, we enjoy it. When you get around a room with the people in my firm – they’re really smart.
“It’s intellectually stimulating. They’re all intellectually curious. And we all come at things from different perspectives – because we’re from different states or we have different political backgrounds and experiences. But that’s part of the fun of it.
“It’s also part of the benefit, ultimately, to the client that you have these different perspectives that essentially work together to try to solve problems.”
What’s the buzz?
As far as sectors where he sees growth and buzz, DuHaime cites energy. “There’s so much there – the affordability issues. Also, just the supply-and-demand issues. You’ve got to be able to move electrons, so when I flip the switch, the light goes on. And that it’s done so at a fairly affordable price. And it’s become more of a political football.
“So, understanding the politics – understanding how decision makers think and make those decisions – have become even bigger than they were five, 10 years ago.”
DuHaime reflected on the Obama years and the debate over the Dakota Access Pipeline, saying he thought energy was polarized back then.
“It really wasn’t as polarized before that,” he explained. “But it’s only getting more and more; as I feel the far left pushes the more center-left into a difficult box when it comes to demanding the zero-carbon outputs. And we represent a lot of folks who are, I would say, the moderates in the energy space; who want to continue to lower emissions and meet our climate goals — but are also realists when it comes to the need for natural gas working with renewables.
“So, we do a lot in the energy space.”
He continued, “I would say the other one is health care. Health care continues to be just such a big and important part of the economy. And it touches so many different parts of people’s lives – and it just continues to grow.”
Beyond that, DuHaime noted areas that range from real estate to sports teams, as well as artificial intelligence and technology.
The race is on
The conversation turned to the 2025 gubernatorial race, which is hitting the home stretch here in the Garden State. Along with the governor’s race in Virginia – they are the only two states holding such elections in this off year. So what is DuHaime seeing now?
“First of all, it’s more fun being a pundit than being in the middle of the race,” he joked. DuHaime has played a key role on a number of notable campaigns throughout his career, including the successful gubernatorial runs of Gov. Chris Christie, where he served as lead strategist. “But I think this is going to be a close race.”
He noted that he expects the New Jersey race to be closer than the Virginia race.
“National Republicans are more optimistic about New Jersey than they are about Virginia,” said DuHaime. “Because Jack [Ciattarelli – GOP nominee] came close last time – and, historically, we haven’t had three terms of one party in office since like the 1960s.”
DuHaime said that the incumbent party faces that challenge of people wanting a change, reflecting on his experience working on the John McCain campaign when President George W. Bush was in office. He believes that Ciattarelli is playing that card of time for a change – but also noted that strategy is a bit more challenging because Gov. Phil Murphy’s support is not underwater.
“Gov. Murphy is not like detested in this state. They’re not ready to throw him out. He’s not exactly universally loved either,” DuHaime explained, noting that usually voters are ready to throw a leader out after eight years. “He’s kind of like – in the middle.”
That is actually a challenge for both candidates – Ciattarelli and Democratic U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, said DuHaime.
“Because for Mikie Sherrill, [Murphy’s] not a guy that you obviously want to embrace moving forward. But for Jack Ciattarelli, they’re also not coming out with pitchforks to throw the guy out, either. So, I think the challenge is – how’s Trump going to impact the race? Because we usually also go against the part in the White House.
“The state does tend to course correct against whoever’s in the White House. Those trends only matter unless somebody breaks them. And Ciattarelli’s looking to break that trend – and Sherrill’s looking to break the trend of not having three in a row. So those things are in competition right now.
“But I think the race is, ultimately, close.”
