Anurag serves as a Director within Breakwater Strategy’s Research and Insights team. He develops and manages strategic quantitative and qualitative research projects to mine valuable insights for clients looking to navigate the vast landscape of public opinion. He is experienced and adept at producing research proposals, surveys and discussion guides, data infrastructure and analysis materials, and insights reports in a wide variety of mediums and styles. 

Prior to joining Breakwater Strategy, Anurag worked for several years in the market research and analytics space, at firms such as GfK, Greenwald Research, and IRi, where he oversaw and supported a plethora of diverse research projects and initiatives. He also spent four years in the creative writing and publishing space. While earning his Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of Colorado, Anurag served as a graduate research assistant with the Ritual Arts and Pedagogy Lab, as well as a graduate teaching assistant with the English Department. During his three-year tenure at the university, he published multiple short stories and wrote his first book, Submarine (Split/Lip Press, 2022). 

Anurag holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. He was born in Brooklyn, NY and grew up in Bridgewater, NJ. He is a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan, still clinging (tenuously) to the glory of Superbowl LII. In his spare time, Anurag enjoys watching and talking about football, writing fiction, and spending time with his wife, friends, and family. 

Shea Agnew is a Vice President at Breakwater Strategy, where he leads the firm’s earned media strategy and executive positioning work. A storyteller by nature, clients turn to Shea for creative ideation, speechwriting, byline composition and placement, and corporate narrative development. 

Shea joined Breakwater after spending four years in Suva, Fiji, where he headed communications for the Fijian government. As speechwriter to the Prime Minister and advisor to the Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, he projected the voice of Fiji and other Small Island Developing States on the global stage, amplifying the stories of the world’s most climate-vulnerable populations. 

Of note, Shea’s portfolio includes remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, the UNFCCC Conference of Parties climate summits (COP23, 24, and 25), World Bank Group Annual Meetings and Small States Forums, the Asian Development Bank Annual Meetings, the inaugural UN Habitat Assembly, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the World Urban Forum, and the Pacific Islands Forum. His audiences have included some of the world’s most influential figures –– various heads of state and government, royalty, secretaries-general, and major corporate leaders. 

Shea’s experience covers issues of immense geopolitical significance and complex intercultural sensitivity, from climate change to interfaith healing. He worked on the ground in the wake of the mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand and Easter bombings in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He represented Fiji in the planning of its country exhibition at EXPO 2020 Dubai, and was a member of the Fijian delegation at landmark international climate negotiations in both Tuvalu and Spain. 

His career in strategic communications began at Edelman, where he specialized in executive positioning, C-suite thought leadership, and corporate branding. He worked to publicize the creation of the Star in Frisco, the multi-billion-dollar headquarters and practice facility of the Dallas Cowboys, from groundbreaking to ribbon-cutting. 

Shea majored in international studies and government at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. While there, he studied marine biology in Culebra, Puerto Rico, Eastern culture in Beijing, China, and ancient history in Greece. He now splits his time between the U.S. and Brazil. 

Rob is an Associate Director at Breakwater Strategy. He brings experience in corporate communications, advocacy, and issue management. Throughout his career, he has helped advocacy organizations, government agencies, and corporations find effective messages and deliver them to key audiences.

Prior to Breakwater, Rob was an Account Director at CLYDE, a communications and public affairs agency based in Washington, DC. At CLYDE, he worked in the healthcare space alongside Fortune 500 companies and a government initiative and spearheaded an agency podcast. Before CLYDE, Rob served as a Senior Manager, Digital Media and Communications at the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. He earned an M.A. in Media and Strategic Communication and a double major B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication/Political Science, both from George Washington University.

When not in the office, you can find him watching the New Jersey Devils, New York Yankees, and New York Giants, reading the latest history book, or looking for his golf ball in the woods.

As a Senior Associate at Breakwater, Carly assists staff in the development and execution of strategic communications campaigns for a broad array of clients. Her main responsibilities include content development, media monitoring, research, and analysis. 

Prior to joining the Breakwater team, Carly worked as a legal writing and revision specialist at Hudson Business Immigration, an employment-based immigration law firm, where she prepared legal documents for clients’ green card applications. She has experience communicating around technical scientific research in a variety of industries, including energy, medicine, technology, and more. 

Carly graduated from Carleton College with distinction in Religion. While at Carleton, Carly worked at the Center for Community and Civic Engagement, interned with an environmental non-profit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and studied global security and religious pluralism in Dakar, Senegal. Originally from Chapel Hill, NC, she is a Tarheel, born and bred. 

Leveraging her keen analytical acumen and diverse experience in business strategy, Kim is focused on delivering impactful solutions to our Capital Market clients’ most critical challenges.

Kim joined Breakwater with extensive experience in financial services where she has held roles advising senior executives across Strategy, Business Intelligence, Finance, Product, and Market Intelligence. Over her career, Kim has developed multiyear business strategies for divisions ranging from $5B to $50B in AUA. She is adept at identifying growth opportunities and designing business plans to capitalize on those opportunities through redefining target segments, product offerings and distribution channels that have stronger market fit. She understands the tradeoffs ever present in the business environment and has designed mathematical and financial models to understand the most efficient use of capital to achieve desired results.

Kim graduated summa cum laude from the University of Connecticut, with a B.S. in Marketing and a B.A. in English. In recognition of her academic success and professional experiences, she was a student inductee to the School of Business Hall of Fame. She also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Connecticut School of Business with concentrations in Management and Marketing.

Expertise:

• Market Research & Competitive Intelligence
• Business Strategy
• Financial Planning & Analysis
• Product and Business Development

Arik is the President, CEO and founder of Breakwater Strategy, a boutique strategic communications firm specializing in helping clients navigate the complex conversations of today’s turbulent environment. 

An experienced strategic advisor, Arik partners with client’s leadership teams and boards to solve critical business challenges and capitalize on emerging opportunities. That work includes developing and communicating compelling enterprise-level narratives, managing complex issues and crises, and building strong two-way relationships and coalitions with diverse stakeholders. 

Formerly, Arik was an Executive Managing Director and a member of the founding team at The Glover Park Group (GPG). Arik’s clients included some of the world’s largest and most dynamic businesses as they undergo periods of historic change in their industries, markets and regulatory environments. Past and current clients include Disney, Anheuser-Busch, USAA, Verizon, Ford Motor Company, UnitedHealthcare and 21st Century Fox. 

Over the course of a his nearly twenty years of professional experience, Arik has helped dozens of clients secure key business objectives, including landmark legislative and regulatory outcomes, successful navigation of potentially damaging crises, and measurable improvements to reputation among consumers, opinion leaders, investors and employees. 

In addition to his client-facing responsibilities, as President and CEO, Arik is responsible for developing the firm’s growth strategy with a focus on innovation, new business partnerships, knowledge management, and continuous improvement of client service. 

Prior to founding Breakwater, Arik worked on domestic and international political campaigns, including the Gore-Lieberman campaign and Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s 2001 campaign in Israel. Arik holds a BA in History and Political Science from Tel Aviv University. Arik serves on the board of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Victoria, and three children. 

Leveraging her deep and broad experience in research, Tina designs market-leading approaches to develop research-driven intelligence that enable clients to best address the needs of corporate stakeholders through sharpened strategic communications priorities and best practices.

Prior to joining Breakwater, Tina was a Director at a leading data-driven investor relations consulting firm working closely with project directors and managing research workflow for the core perception study business. Previously, she worked in several research-oriented roles, including investigative research and as a librarian in both public and university libraries.

Tina received her Master of Library Science from Southern Connecticut State University and her Bachelor of Arts in English & Cinema Studies from Northeastern University.

Expertise:

• Capital Markets
• Investor Relations
• Sell Side & Buy Side
• Perception/Shareholder Research
• Process Excellence
• All Sectors and Market Capitalizations

Henry Brill is a Director at Breakwater Strategy. At Breakwater, he leads daily media relations for a multi-billion-dollar company at the intersection of financial services and technology. His day-to-day media engagement includes proactive pitching in response to breaking stories, cultivating long-term relationships with financial and regulatory reporters at top-tier outlets, and thought leadership positioning for C-suite executives. In addition, Henry also develops messaging and strategy for a broad portfolio of clients across the firm in sectors ranging from entertainment to technology.

As a communications strategist, Henry has worked across some of the most contentious issues in the public square, including the intersection of religion and politics. Prior to joining Breakwater, Henry served as Communications Associate with the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, a think tank based at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. At Georgetown, he led editorial strategy and development for an online publication that has been quoted at length in major media outlets, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. His work also included hand-in-hand collaboration with leading scholars and senior government officials to amplify thoughtful dialogue on complex issues of global concern — from the rise of religious nationalism to the refugee crisis.

Previously, he studied Turkish in Baku, Azerbaijan, through a Critical Language Scholarship sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Henry holds an A.B., summa cum laude, from Kenyon College, where he wrote an award-winning honors thesis on early modern Islamic history. His academic work has been published by Columbia University Press. Based in Washington, DC, he can often be found at dLeña for dinner, Jane Jane for craft cocktails, and the Mount Vernon Triangle farmers market for Saturday morning shopping.

Riley Burke is an Associate at Breakwater Strategy. Based in San Francisco, she leverages her extensive background in writing, public relations, and content creation to support senior staff and clients in meeting daily and long-term goals by way of media monitoring and analysis, research, and administrative work.

In June 2024, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from UC Santa Barbara where she earned a bachelor’s in communication with a minor in professional writing and journalism. During her time in college, she served as a staff writer with the Daily Nexus, UCSB’s student-run publication, and as an arts & entertainment reporter with the Santa Barbara Independent, the city’s leading newspaper. She also worked as a publicity assistant with UCSB Arts & Lectures, the largest live entertainment organization located between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Prior to joining Breakwater, Riley held multiple internships across entertainment, politics, and retail spaces. As a media relations intern with HBO and Max she supported high level campaigns for tentpole series including “The Last of Us” and “House of the Dragon.” She also spent time as a publicity assistant with HJ-PR, a boutique PR agency, and as a press intern with the Speaker of the California State Assembly’s office.

In her free time, Riley can be found writing nonfiction essays on pop culture, reading Joan Didion, trying her best to learn to cook, and waiting very patiently for the day her hometown team, the Sacramento Kings, finally wins a championship.

Chris Byrne is a Managing Director at Breakwater Strategy with two decades of experience working at the highest levels of government, politics and cable news. Chris is an expert in crisis communications, media training, speechwriting and brand development. 

For eight years, Chris held various roles at the Fox News Channel and was the Senior Producer of the network’s highest-rated primetime show during his tenure. In this position, he was the principal advisor to the host, produced live broadcasts and developed content for thousands of hours of programming during the most consequential news events of the 21st century. Chris also worked with network executives to relaunch Fox’s weekend primetime lineup, produced shows on-location at Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles and secured exclusive interviews with high-profile figures from former presidents to some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment.  

Throughout the 2016 Presidential Campaign, Chris was a trusted communications advisor to Donald J. Trump and the Trump family.  Chris also spearheaded the campaign’s groundbreaking efforts to strategically engage with local and regional media outlets to reach critical swing state voters. In addition, he helped develop and manage the live remote television studio inside the campaign’s headquarters at Trump Tower in New York City. Following Trump’s historic victory, Chris was a key member of the Presidential Transition Team where he served as a national spokesman and led rapid response efforts for major cabinet nominees. 

Later in his career, as a Vice President at Prosek Partners, Chris established the firm’s first public affairs and government relations advisory services for clients. He also directed executive visibility programs and led media training sessions, enhancing the public profiles of several prominent global financial services leaders. 

He is also the founder of West Wing Strategies, a strategic communications firm that provided earned media opportunities, speechwriting services and innovative thought leadership initiatives to clients across various industries. 

Chris began his career in Washington, serving four years in the George W. Bush Administration as a White House Spokesman and Special Assistant to the White House Press Secretary. As the top aide to Dana Perino, Chris played a pivotal role in providing counsel to Dana prior to her daily televised press briefings. Prior to this, the President appointed Chris as Deputy Associate Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel. 

A proud graduate of the University of Delaware, Chris holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He resides outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.