October 15, 2024 – BSG, the polling and research firm known for its work in the 2008 and 2012 campaigns for President Barack Obama, announced that the organization’s founder and executive chairman, Joel Benenson, is leaving the company he founded in 2000.
Benenson’s departure from BSG caps a professional path that took the Queens’ native from youthful roles as an actor and the proprietor of a beer distributorship to a storied political career that made him the only pollster in history to play a leading role in three winning presidential campaigns. In addition to leading the award-winning research and polling programs for President Obama, Benenson, 72, served as Senior Strategist to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, and worked on President Bill Clinton’s team during the 1996 race. He was deeply involved in helping Democrats win the 2006 midterms.
Prior to his turn to politics in 1994 as the communications director for Gov. Mario Cuomo’s last gubernatorial race, Benenson had a decade-long run as a newspaper reporter for Gannett Newspapers and the New York Daily News. During his 24 years at the helm of Benenson Partners, formerly Benenson Strategy Group, he has been a trusted advisor to heads of state, political leaders, Fortune 100 companies and their CEOs, and leaders of major advocacy and nonprofit institutions.
“When Joel asked me to come launch Benenson Strategy Group with him in 2000, he wanted to build a company that would make a difference in our country’s politics and in the lives of real people,” said Carl Rossow, co-founder and CEO of BSG. “Over his 24 years here, BSG has fought for fairness, justice, the rights of Americans at the ballot box, and helped elect progressive leaders at all levels of government. It’s been quite a run.”
“As I look at closing this chapter and beginning a new one, I am proud of everything the people of this firm have accomplished, said Benenson. “Now I’m going to be turning my energies to the book that I’ve gotten nowhere on in the year since I became executive chairman, as well as to teaching, lecturing and traveling with my wife, Lisa. And perhaps most importantly I’m going to get a little more time with my two grandchildren, and the two more who are on the way.”
BSG is a strategic research consultancy that helps clients win in the most challenging, competitive situations. Advising global corporations, political leaders and institutions in dynamic, competitive scenarios, BSG has earned a reputation for expertise in the rhythm and nuances of language and words, and the underlying dynamics of consumer and political choices. Founded in 2000 and acquired by WPP in 2013, BSG is headquartered in New York, with offices in Washington, D.C., Denver, and Los Angeles.