Smith & Company

What Smith & Company does

Smith & Company is a privately-held strategic advisory firm specializing in crisis management, reputation management, and strategic communications. Founded by Judy A. Smith — a former federal prosecutor and Deputy Press Secretary to President George H.W. Bush — the firm is headquartered in New York with operating offices in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London, and is incorporated as Smith & Company LLC in the US and Smith & Company London Ltd in the UK. The firm serves an elite client base spanning Fortune 500 corporations (Amazon, Meta, Walmart, Sony, United Healthcare, Kaiser, Panera, Lowe's), politicians and government officials, entertainment figures (actors, musicians, models, filmmakers), athletes and sports organizations, and global NGOs and government agencies. Its core services are organized around five practice areas — Corporate, Crisis Management, Entertainment, Sports, and Global Affairs — delivered as project-based engagements and ongoing advisory retainers by senior counselors with media, legal, and political expertise.

The firm operates as a pure professional services business with no proprietary technology platform or software product. Its 'technology stack' is essentially its human capital: a bench of senior strategists, storytellers, digital specialists, and registered sports agents who deliver counsel, media training, brand positioning, litigation support, digital strategy, and thought leadership advisory. The business model is sales-led and referral-driven, with the majority of new business originating from client and partner introductions rather than outbound marketing. Pricing is not publicly disclosed but is structured as negotiated, engagement-based professional fees consistent with senior advisory work for high-profile clients. Marketing is anchored to the founder's high public profile — including media commentary on CNN, MSNBC, FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS, keynote appearances at PRWeek and Cannes Lions, the 2012 ABC series 'Scandal' (on which Smith served as Co-Executive Producer), and her 2011 book 'Good Self, Bad Self' — which functions as a continuous top-of-funnel awareness engine.

Name

Smith & Company

Legal name

Smith & Company LLC.

Website

https://smithandcompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smith & Company is a privately-held strategic advisory firm offering crisis management, reputation management, and strategic communications counsel to Fortune 500 corporations, politicians, entertainment figures, athletes, and global organizations across offices in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and London.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Crisis Management & Strategic Communications Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Turnaround, Restructuring & Crisis Management Consulting (BPAHACAO)

Keywords

• Crisis management services
• Strategic communications advisory
• Reputation management consulting
• Public relations advisory
• Corporate brand protection

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Strategic Advisory Services: Professional consulting services including crisis management, brand enhancement, reputation management, media training, and strategic counsel. Services are delivered through project-based engagements and ongoing advisory relationships with corporate, entertainment, sports, and political clients.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Smith & Company is a strategic advisory firm that delivers crisis management, corporate reputation management, brand enhancement, and strategic communications counsel to high-profile clients. Services are organized around five practice areas: Corporate, Crisis Management, Entertainment, Sports, and Global Affairs. The firm operates through senior-level counselors providing project-based engagements and ongoing advisory relationships.

Product overview

Smith & Company is a strategic advisory firm offering a portfolio of professional services including strategic advisory/counsel, crisis management, brand enhancement, corporate reputation management, media training, entertainment services, sports representation, and global affairs consulting. These services are delivered through dedicated teams of strategists, storytellers, reputation managers, and digital specialists. The firm operates across multiple industry verticals (corporate, entertainment, sports, global affairs) serving high-profile clients including Fortune 500 companies, celebrities, athletes, and politicians. Services are provided on a consulting engagement basis rather than as a software product or platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Served as advisor for high-profile CEOs, brands, celebrities, athletes, and politicians
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• FTI Consulting: Global advisory firm with a large Strategic Communications segment offering crisis management, litigation support, and public affairs counsel to corporations and high-profile individuals. Directly comparable service lines but at materially greater scale and with broader geographic reach than Smith & Company.
• Edelman: Largest privately held global PR firm with deep crisis and risk practice serving Fortune 500 clients on reputation management and executive counsel. Overlaps with Smith & Company across corporate crisis but operates at significantly larger scale and broader capability set.
• BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe): Major global communications agency offering crisis and issues management, public affairs, and corporate communications. Comparable service offering at significantly larger scale, with similar Fortune 500 client targets.
• H/Advisors (Havas): Global communications group with significant public affairs, crisis, and corporate advisory capabilities. Comparable offerings but as part of a much larger holding-company network with cross-discipline scale Smith & Company does not have.

Direct peers

• Brunswick Group: Specialist critical-issues and crisis advisory firm serving CEOs, boards, and senior leaders on reputation, M&A communications, and litigation support. Closest direct peer in model: senior-counsel-led, referral-driven, premium-fee crisis work for Fortune 500 and global institutions.
• Kekst CNC: Boutique strategic communications firm specializing in M&A, crisis, shareholder activism, and litigation support for large corporations and investors. Closely comparable senior-led advisory model with similar client profile to Smith & Company's corporate practice.
• Joele Frank: Specialist strategic communications and investor relations advisor focused on M&A, crises, shareholder defense, and corporate governance situations. Highly comparable boutique model with senior-counsel delivery and Fortune 500 client base.
• Sard Verbinnen & Co: Specialist strategic communications firm handling crisis, special situations, M&A defense, and investor relations for corporations, boards, and individuals. Direct boutique peer with similar senior-advisor model and crisis-management depth.
• Abernathy MacGregor: Boutique strategic communications firm focused on crisis, special situations, M&A defense, and investor relations for public companies and boards. Closely comparable in delivery model and client profile to Smith & Company's corporate practice.
• Prosek Partners: Independent strategic communications and investor relations firm serving financial services, professional services, and B2B brands on crisis and reputation work. Comparable boutique senior-counsel model with overlapping corporate client base.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smithandcompany

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smith & Company