Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
October 28, 2025
Veteran Strategist Launches AI-Focused Public Affairs Firm
TLDR
- O'Doherty & Associates offers leaders a competitive edge by leveraging AI and capital strategy to gain influence in today's rapidly evolving public-affairs landscape.
- The new firm operates through a family of entities including a law practice, influence agency, and capital network to provide integrated public-affairs services globally.
- This venture aims to help institutions and innovators create positive impact through better policy and strategy in healthcare, housing, and economic development initiatives.
- After 17 years co-founding KO Public Affairs, Damian O'Doherty launches a global firm blending AI insights with human storytelling to reshape influence.
Impact - Why it Matters
This development matters because it signals a fundamental transformation in how influence and public affairs are conducted in the age of artificial intelligence. As AI continues to reshape communication, policy-making, and business strategy, traditional public affairs approaches are becoming increasingly obsolete. O'Doherty's pivot reflects broader industry trends where expertise must now integrate technology, data analytics, and digital storytelling alongside traditional political and media relations. For businesses, institutions, and leaders, this evolution means that navigating regulatory environments, public perception, and policy landscapes requires new skill sets and strategies. The emergence of specialized firms focusing on AI-era leadership indicates that organizations that fail to adapt their public affairs and influence strategies risk being left behind in an increasingly complex and technologically-driven landscape.
Summary
Damian O'Doherty, a prominent Maryland political and public-affairs veteran with an extensive background detailed on his LinkedIn profile, has launched a groundbreaking new venture called O'Doherty & Associates, marking a significant departure from KO Public Affairs, the firm he co-founded nearly two decades ago. After 17 years of building KO into a regional powerhouse, O'Doherty recognized that "the canvas in public affairs has changed" and that traditional approaches no longer suffice in today's rapidly evolving landscape. His new firm represents a strategic pivot toward helping leaders, institutions, and innovators "gain resonance in the AI epoch" by combining expertise across multiple disciplines including law, influence strategy, media relations, and capital strategy.
O'Doherty & Associates operates as a "family of firms" with geographic reach spanning Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Colorado, while maintaining global operations. The comprehensive structure includes a Maryland-based law practice, an Aspen-based influence and public-affairs agency, and a global capital network. Among its specialized offerings is Health Counsel, a dedicated practice that advises healthcare executives on complex policy and strategic matters. This diversified approach reflects O'Doherty's extensive experience shaping some of the region's most significant projects, from healthcare advocacy and infrastructure expansion to economic development initiatives around the Port of Baltimore and the D.C. Beltway area.
The veteran public-affairs strategist emphasized that "the boxing gloves that built KO don't fit what's next," signaling a fundamental shift in how influence is cultivated and deployed in the modern era. O'Doherty's new venture aims to guide leaders through a transformative period where artificial intelligence and human storytelling are reshaping the very nature of influence across statehouses, health systems, data centers, and global markets. His statement that "firms must be fit to fight for a new future" underscores the urgent need for updated approaches in public affairs, positioning his new company at the forefront of this evolution as detailed in the original citybiz coverage of this significant industry development.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content disributed by citybiz. Read the original source here, Veteran Strategist Launches AI-Focused Public Affairs Firm
