WestExec Advisors LLC is a consulting firm founded in 2017 by Antony Blinken, Michèle Flournoy, Sergio Aguirre, and Nitin Chadda, all former Obama administration officials.[1][2][3] Lisa Monaco, Robert O. Work, Avril Haines, David S. Cohen, and Jen Psaki have also been WestExec employees.[4] Richard Stengel, former President Obama's Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs is a current employee.[5]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Risk and strategic consulting |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Founder | Antony Blinken Michèle Flournoy  |
| Headquarters | , |
| Website | westexec |
In an interview with The Intercept, Flournoy explained WestExec seeks to employ "people recently coming out of government" with "current knowledge, expertise, contacts, networks."[6] The firm and its partners avoid becoming registered lobbyists or foreign agents so that they can (re)enter government service without delays.[7] It does not disclose its clients, whose names are restricted from disclosure by non-disclosure agreements.[8] The firm is named after West Executive Avenue, a street near the West Wing of the White House.[8]
Clients and activities
editAlthough WestExec does not disclose its list of clients, some have been reported. Its clients include Google's Jigsaw; Windward, an Israeli artificial intelligence firm; Shield AI, a drone surveillance company;[4] and Fortune 100 types".[9]
Under a financial disclosure filed by the Biden transition team in December 2020, Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken declared that clients of WestExec included "investment giant Blackstone, Bank of America, Facebook, Uber, McKinsey & Company, the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, the pharmaceutical company Gilead, the investment bank Lazard, Boeing, AT&T, the Royal Bank of Canada, LinkedIn and the venerable Sotheby's". In a similar form, Director of National Intelligence-designate Avril Haines disclosed that WestExec had worked with data-mining company Palantir Technologies.[10]
References
edit- ^ "Michèle Flournoy". WestExec Advisors. October 19, 2017. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ "Our Team". WestExec Advisors. January 11, 2016. Archived from the original on May 10, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ "Westexec Advisors LLC - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- ^ a b Lipton, Eric; Vogel, Kenneth P. (November 28, 2020). "Aides' Ties to Firms Present Biden With Early Ethics Test". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
- ^ Ogle, Merritt (August 8, 2022). "Richard Stengel - WestExec Advisors". Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ "Former Obama Officials Help Silicon Valley Pitch the Pentagon for Lucrative Defense Contracts". The Intercept. Archived from the original on May 15, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ Bender, Bryan; Meyer, Theodoric (November 23, 2020). "The secretive consulting firm that's become Biden's Cabinet in waiting". Politico. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
- ^ a b Mosk, Matthew; Levine, Mike (November 12, 2020). "Watchdogs urge transparency as executives from powerful DC firm floated for Biden administration". ABC News. Archived from the original on November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- ^ Guyer, Jonathan (July 6, 2020). "How Biden's Foreign-Policy Team Got Rich". The American Prospect. Archived from the original on July 18, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
- ^ Thompson, Alex; Meyer, Theodoric (January 1, 2021). "Janet Yellen made millions in Wall Street, corporate speeches". Politico. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.