Eric Sedler, 39, a former public relations director at AT&T and corporate-reputation specialist at PR giant Edelman, is the “S” in ASK and
http://www.nfmpolitico.com/fox11az/2009/04/03/millions-for-axelrod-in-sale-of-firm/
Millions for Axelrod in sale of firm
As he prepared to take a job in the White House at the end of last year, David Axelrod sold the political consulting firm that helped elect President Obama for $2 million to a group of consultants who helped steer Obama’s campaign.
According to a disclosure form released Friday evening by the White House, the firm, AKP&D Message & Media, paid him $897,000 last year, when it had basically turned itself into an arm of the Obama campaign, which paid the company $2.5 million.
The disclosure indicates that Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe—the “P” in AKP&D and still an influential political consultant for Obama and the Democratic National Committee—was not among the buyers, though he’ll remain a senior advisor to the firm.
Instead, Axelrod reported the new owner is a “newly formed S-Corporation” owned by Obama campaign vets John Kupper, John Del Cecato and Larry Grisolano.
Kupper and Del Cecato — the “K” and “D,” respectively — handled research and for the campaign and also wrote many of its ads. Grislano is a Los Angeles-based strategist who handled direct mail for Obama’s campaign.
Axelrod’s disclosure offers a peak inside the business model he used to create a Chicago-based consulting powerhouse, which included both AKP&D and ASK Public Strategies.
ASK, which specialized in corporate public relations, paid him partnership income of $152,000 last year, according to the disclosure, even though he had taken a leave of absence to work on the campaign. Axelrod sold his share of ASK for $1 million at the end of last year to Kupper and Eric Sedler.
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