Brandon Friedman

Brandon Friedman, Founder and CEO

For 17 years, Brandon Friedman has been a trusted adviser to Fortune 500 companies, large government agencies, and fast-moving nonprofits. Before co-founding The McPherson Square Group, he served in the Obama administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. There, Brandon played a key role leading communications for Secretary Julián Castro and the department’s 8,000 employees. Brandon previously served as a vice president with global PR firm FleishmanHillard, as the first Director of Digital Strategy at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and as a spokesperson for VoteVets.org. He began his career in 2000 as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division, serving in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

A regular media contributor since 2007, Brandon has appeared on CNN, BBC, MSNBC, Al Jazeera and C-SPAN. For his work in communications, he has been profiled by The Washington Post, PR Week, Stars and Stripes, and Government Executive. His memoir, The War I Always Wanted, was recognized in 2010 by The Military Times as one of “The Best Military Books of the Decade.” Brandon is also published regularly by outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME and The New York Daily News.

In addition to his work in communications, Brandon co-founded Rakkasan Tea Company, a Dallas-based social impact venture. Since 2017, Rakkasan has worked with artisan tea farmers in active war zones and post-conflict countries to promote peace and economic development. The company has been profiled in The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News, Inc. Magazine and elsewhere.

Still active in local politics, Brandon has represented District 14 on the City of Dallas Police Oversight Board since 2021. He is a Truman National Security Fellow and holds an MPA from the University of Texas at Dallas and a BA from Louisiana State University in Shreveport.