When business executives, government officials and nonprofit leaders face a seemingly intractable challenge, they turn to David Urban to find the solution. With more than three decades of experience in the military, law, business, communications, politics and public service to his name, David has established trusted relationships with the key players in the nation’s capital and the world’s board rooms, where he continues to offer his unmatched expertise and counsel to those making some of the most consequential decisions of the day. Most recently, David served as Executive Vice President of North American Corporate Affairs for ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, the world's third-largest social network. In this senior role, he worked alongside the company’s top leadership, helping them navigate a myriad of global public policy and communications challenges, as well as advising on ESG and CSR issues. As President of the American Continental Group (ACG), a premier bipartisan government affairs and strategy consulting firm, he provided the same type of high stakes counsel—from advising the CEO of Zoom during the early tumultuous days of the COVID-19 pandemic to assisting the CEO of 7-Eleven adapt to a rapidly changing regulatory environment. He has an insider’s understanding of nearly every major industry—telecommunications, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, finance and more—and has advised on issues ranging from relocation decisions to crisis communications. In the nonprofit space, he’s worked with groups as wide ranging as the Human Rights Campaign and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Before joining ACG, David served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, making him the senator’s senior advisor on all legislative, political, media and administrative matters in Pennsylvania and Washington. Because of his relationships and keen understanding of Pennsylvania, he later played a pivotal role in the 2016 presidential election, serving as a senior advisor to the Trump campaign and orchestrating a historic victory in the Keystone State. Upon the 45th President’s inauguration, Politico named David one of the “30 most powerful people in Trump’s Washington”. After receiving a presidential appointment, David served as Chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission, playing a leadership role in the commemorations of the 100th Anniversary of the World War I Armistice, the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings at Normandy and the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. He was also appointed by the President to the Board of Visitors (Trustees) for his alma mater, the United States Military Academy at West Point. David is a paid political commentator for CNN, where, since 2018, he has helped viewers understand the news of the day appearing both domestically and internationally on such shows as The Lead with Jake Tapper, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, AC360 with Anderson Cooper and Amanpour & Company with Christiane Amanpour. He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and serves on the boards of Virtu, a publicly traded financial firm that uses cutting-edge technology to deliver liquidity and transparent trading solutions to the global markets; SubCom, a privately held company that is the leader in developing, delivering, maintaining and operating the most advanced and extensive undersea cable networks in the world; Stratolaunch, a privately held company that designs, manufactures and launches recoverable, maneuverable hyper-sonic vehicles; and the non-profit Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund, which, since 2014, has provided over $20 million in college scholarships to the children of fallen servicemen and women. After graduating from West Point, David served as an artillery officer in the 101st Airborne Division where he was awarded the Bronze Star for his service against an enemy of the United States during Operation Desert Storm. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Beasley School of Law, Temple University, a Master of Government Administration degree from the Fels Institute of Government, University of Pennsylvania and has completed an ESG certification program through the Said Business School, Oxford University. He has served as an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz School of Government. An active member of the Pennsylvania Bar, he is admitted to practice before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

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