A group of New Jersey political powerhouses led by Maggie Moran are launching a new global boutique public affairs firm, Moxie Strategies, that seeks to shatter the conventional agency model by combining their political experience and contacts and cutting-edge data with a fresh perspective at getting results.
Joining Moran as founding members of the Moxie Strategies team are Jeannine Frisby LaRue, Pearl Gabel, Hira Shaikh, and Joe Libutti. The new firm plans to provide advertising, strategic and public affairs services, and use AI integrations with an “outcome-driven focus.”
“Navigating the ever-evolving arena of Public Affairs demands a mix of insight, expertise, resolve, and moxie,” Moran stated. “Our mission is clear: to merge our deep expertise and commitment to outcomes with sophisticated strategy to effect real, transformative change. With this incredible team and impressive capabilities, we are set to redefine what an agency can be.”
The firm has developed a proprietary product, Moxie 360º Diagnostics, a technological tool to conduct a comprehensive analysis of issues, brands, and causes through a blend of quantitative and qualitative research.
She delayed a March launch to serve as campaign manager for Tammy Murphy’s U.S. Senate race, but several weeks later Murphy opted not to continue her Senate bid.
Moran has been a force in New Jersey politics since the 1990s and held top posts at the Democratic State Committee and was the state director for two U.S. Senators, Frank Lautenberg and Jon Corzine. After Corzine was elected governor, Moran served as his deputy chief of staff and ran his 2009 re-election campaign. She later became a top official at the Laborers’ International Union Eastern Region. She founded M Public Affairs, which later merged with Kivvit, a hugely influential public affairs firm she helped build and run.
LaRue, a veteran government official and civil rights leader with an insatiable appetite for new entrepreneurial ventures, has been at the epicenter of major public policy decisions since the 1970s. She served as a school board member and councilwoman, as the top lobbyist for the NJEA, as a commissioner of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, as deputy chief of staff to the governor, and as a vice president of Rutgers University and St. Barnabas Health Care System. In addition to Moxie, LaRue will remain as a senior vice president at The Zita Group, a Trenton lobbying firm.
“When I look back over my expansive career, I realize that the journey was made for this moment at Moxie,” said LaRue. “To use those skills I’ve developed in government, politics, and the corporate sector over decades to create strategies for all the unique clients who will come our way is the opportunity of a lifetime.”
The new firm reunites Moran with Gabel, who won national plaudits for her role in developing the personality of New Jersey’s state government social media accounts before joining Kivvit as director of brand strategy.
“Joining Moxie is like joining a band of superheroes,” Gabel said. “Every one of us has been battle-tested across politics, government, business, healthcare, journalism, and advocacy. Together, we can channel our forces and become like the Avengers of agencies.”
Shaikh, who will run the firm’s client management, is a former chief of staff to Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer (D-Montgomery) and a principal at Kivvit.
Libutti will head Moxie’s research and analytics. He comes from Kivvitt (now Avoq).
“With this incredible team, Moxie is poised to become the nation’s preeminent quant-first public affairs firm, building movements and delivering high-impact advocacy by embedding research and analytics into every phase of our engagements, said Libutti. “Our ethos is one of relentless innovation, ensuring our clients are leaders in their field with the most sophisticated strategies at their fingertips. It’s about delivering results and, in this day and age, high-impact public affairs require Moxie’s quant-first approach. Today’s launch of Moxie Strategies will drive a sea change in public affairs and I’m excited to be part of the team driving that change.”
Tara Franco and Amy Hackett are also part of the new firm’s team.