John Ullyot is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with three decades of experience in strategic counsel, media relations and issues management in the public and private sectors.
He has led strategic engagements with some of the world’s most respected government leaders, political candidates, companies, and CEOs on many high-profile issues, including campaigns, legislation development, Congressional testimony, major product recalls, earnings, mergers, litigation, and regulatory scrutiny.
Under President Donald J. Trump, Mr. Ullyot served as Deputy Assistant to the President, National Security Council chief spokesman and Senior Director for Strategic Communications, where he led and coordinated interagency communications on key diplomatic and security issues including countering Chinese Communist Party aggression, strengthening Indo-Pacific alliances, deterring Iran, and eliminating the ISIS caliphate.
Previously, as Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, Mr. Ullyot served as chief communications officer for the largest civilian department in the federal government and the largest integrated healthcare and hospital system in the United States, with over 400,000 employees, 172 medical centers and a total budget of $250 billion.
Mr. Ullyot was a senior advisor on the 2016 Trump Presidential campaign, where he directed the campaign’s communications and engagement with state and local media in all 50 states.
Earlier in his career, he served for seven years on the staff of the United States Senate as a senior policy advisor for two veteran U.S. Senators and as communications director for two Senate Committees, Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs.
In the private sector, Mr. Ullyot led global corporate media relations for Dupont, served as Vice President of Corporate Communications for AOL Europe, and was the Washington spokesman for Intel. He was also a longtime senior communications counselor at several top public relations consulting firms including Hill+Knowlton Strategies and Brighton Strategy Group.
A former intelligence officer and scout sniper platoon commander in the U.S. Marine Corps, Mr. Ullyot served on the U.S.-Mexico border with Joint Task Force Six and as liaison officer to the French Foreign Legion in jungle warfare training in South America.
A graduate of Harvard College, Mr. Ullyot provides regular commentary as a national security analyst and political strategist and speaks business-level French, German and Russian.
Representative Engagements
• Directed strategy and messaging on one of the largest medical product recalls in history, including class-action suits.
• Counseled a global services company on managing its exit from the U.S. market, involving thousands of layoffs and congressional hearings.
• Prepared dozens of executives for congressional testimony and media engagement around core threats to company reputation.
• Served a central communications role in the successful defeat of a board challenge from a leading activist shareholder.
• Managed the national communications response for a top global industrial company around a fatal manufacturing plant accident involving a large chemical leak.
• Stood up and managed an industry coalition for healthcare companies facing congressional and regulatory scrutiny.
• Managed the national communications response for a global technology company around its cooperation with federal authorities in the arrest of employees for violating export protocols of sensitive technology.
• Advised the board of a top university on the early replacement of a popular president.
• Managed media relations on dismissals and replacements of chief executive officers in the private sector and at federal agencies.
• Oversaw the development and fielding of one of the largest advertising and marketing campaigns in the federal government, including traditional display and broadcast media channels as well as social and digital media platforms.
Education
• Harvard University, A.B.
• Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, Certificate
Contact
T: 202.249.6900
jullyot@thetorridongroup.com