Dana Perino Joins Burson-Marsteller as Chief Issues Counselor

Burson-Marsteller, a leading global strategic communications consultancy, today announced that Dana Perino has joined the firm as Chief Issues Counselor for the U.S. She will be based in Washington, D.C.

Perino, a skilled media relations expert, was White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush from 2007-2009 and prior to that she had been the Deputy Press Secretary.

Perino will be in the firm’s Issues and Crisis Group where she will use her experience in managing our country’s most pressing issues and crises, including the economic downturn, energy and health care reform, immigration and defense transformation. She will report to Global Executive Vice President Josh Gottheimer.

Perino joined the White House press office in 2005 after serving as the Director of Communications for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. In that capacity, she managed all energy and environmental communications, including renewable and nuclear energy, water and land conservation, and the global challenge of climate change. Prior to working at the White House, and immediately following September 11^th, Perino was a spokesperson at the Department of Justice.

In her new role, Perino will build upon Burson-Marsteller’s already well-established media and issues capabilities and will provide senior level counsel to Burson-Marsteller clients.

"Dana is the latest addition to an already deep bipartisan bench of former presidential advisers,” said Burson-Marsteller CEO Mark Penn. "She has performed one of the most demanding jobs in Washington. We know the skills and judgment she honed in her time at the White House will serve our clients well.”

Perino joins a firm with several former advisors to United States Presidents. Mark Penn was President Bill Clinton’s pollster during his successful 1996 re-election bid and throughout the President’s second term. He also served as an adviser and strategist to Hillary Rodham Clinton during her successful runs for the United States Senate and in her 2008 presidential campaign.

From 1995-97, Burson-Marsteller Worldwide Vice Chair Don Baer served President Bill Clinton as White House Director of Strategic Planning and Communications, and, from 1994-95, he served as Chief White House Speechwriter.

Karen Hughes, also Worldwide Vice Chair at Burson-Marsteller, served as counselor to President George W. Bush from 2001-2002 and Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs from 2005-2007. Hughes was also one of the architects of the Bush/Cheney 2000 campaign.

Burson-Marsteller’s Worldwide Executive Vice President Josh Gottheimer served President Bill Clinton as a speechwriter and a policy adviser and speechwriter to 2004 presidential candidate Senator John Kerry.

Issues and Crisis Managing Director Jano Cabrera served as a national spokesman for Vice President Al Gore from 1998-2002.

Charlie Black, who serves as chairman of Burson-Marsteller’s BKSH unit, advised Presidents Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush. He recently served as a chief campaign adviser to Senator John McCain during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Burson-Marsteller also recently announced a strategic partnership with The Chertoff Group, a security firm led by former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff.

"My objective at Burson-Marsteller is to bring our clients the best strategic thinking from the most experienced professionals available around the world today,” noted CEO Mark Penn.

A native of Colorado, Perino worked on Capitol Hill for Rep. Scott McInnis (R-CO) as a staff assistant and Rep. Dan Schaefer (R-CO) as his press secretary. She worked in the private sector in San Diego with a focus on the technology and new media industry at the communications firm Porter Novelli. She has worked as a television journalist covering the State Assembly of Illinois and obtained her masters in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois-Springfield.

About Burson-Marsteller

Burson-Marsteller (www.burson-marsteller.com), established in 1953, is a leading global public relations and communications firm. It provides clients with strategic thinking and program execution across a full range of public relations, public affairs, advertising and web-related services. The firm’s seamless worldwide network consists of 71 offices and 58 affiliate offices, together operating in 83 countries across six continents. Burson-Marsteller is a part of Young & Rubicam Brands, a subsidiary of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY), one of the world’s leading communications services networks.