Sept. 13, 2021 /The New York Times Dealbook - As companies put more focus on diversity, political engagement and working with a broader range of stakeholders, their consulting needs have changed in turn. Advisers are adapting to meet this demand. Today, Jon Henes, a former restructuring partner at Kirkland & Ellis, is launching C Street Advisory to offer C.E.O.s and boardrooms advice on issues that span business, politics and social justice.
The firm blends Henes’s experience and relationships at Kirkland with his time as the national finance chair for Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign and a co-finance chair for Ray McGuire’s New York mayoral campaign.
C Street has four main functions: Corporate advisory, like the work Henes did at Kirkland; diversity, equity and inclusion (also known as D.E.I.); employee recruitment and retention; and communications. C Street will compete with advisory firms like Teneo, among others, that have turned their attention to helping clients navigate the complex social issues facing companies today. “It’s not about just checking boxes, it’s about really helping to build value in corporations,” Henes told DealBook.
The firm has already hired about 15 people. They include Beth Kojima, a director of special events for McGuire’s mayoral campaign; Melissa Prober, a former deputy general counsel at the Clinton Foundation; Al Tillery, a founding director for Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy at Northwestern University; and Lisa Hernandez Gioia, who handled communications for Hudson Yards. Board members include Minyon Moore, who previously worked in the Clinton White House, and the prominent entertainment lawyer Matt Johnson.
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