JOHN LABOMBARD
Senior Vice President
JOHN LABOMBARD
Senior Vice President
Designing effective strategies to win over audiences with diverse views is nothing new for John. Such work has animated his career, in which he spent 15 years leading communications for some of Washington’s most high-profile red-state Democratic Senators.
John arrived in the DC area with plans to become a music teacher. But a nagging interest in politics found him interning in the Senate when the 2006 midterm election brought several new Senators to Washington. After some trays of brownies delivered to Senate transition offices helped him land his first job, John has served as a senior communications advisor on every significant Congressional debate over the past decade—from national legislative initiatives to Supreme Court nominations—for Senators Jon Tester of Montana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
John led communications campaigns on issues ranging from McCaskill’s work with the Pentagon reforming wartime contracting and with college campuses curbing sexual violence, to her national book tour and role as a leading presidential surrogate. On her campaign, John directly managed and synthesized press, digital, and research operations, helped develop paid media strategies, and served as a liaison with key political operatives and surrogates.
John joined Sinema’s senior team shortly after her historic Senate win, setting up her communications and digital operations, and leading communications around her work on banking, aviation, telecommunications, and health care issues—as well as her successful leadership of the historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law.
WHY JOHN BELONGS IN THE ROOM
He knows how to craft a winning message for audiences of any political leaning.
John understands that his clients can’t rely on strategies that only succeed if one particular party is in charge. He knows how to meet audiences where they are, and design strategies that appeal beyond partisanship.
He can see around corners.
John knows how to recognize and neutralize potential vulnerabilities before they become crises.
He is the kind of strategist you want with you in a high-pressure environment.
Above all, John is unflappable, and knows how to keep his cool, quickly analyze rapidly developing situations, and design strategies that maximize success.
GOOD TO KNOW
Three and counting
I’m an HBO-addict—with The Wire, and seasons-1 of both True Detective and Westworld at the top.
All animals, but giant dogs are best
Throughout high school and college, John played piano as an accompanist for musicals, choirs, and orchestras—and taught beginner piano lessons. To this day, he sometimes convinces his friends to spend an evening sitting around a piano singing—and continues to dream of the day he’ll own his first baby grand.
