Devin O'Malley

Devin O’Malley is a Partner and Head of Crisis and Special Situations, advising clients in moments when reputational, policy, legal, and commercial pressures collide. He works with companies, executives, and organizations confronting high-stakes scrutiny, disruption, investigations, sensitive leadership issues, and fast-moving external events that demand clear judgment and disciplined execution. His practice sits at the intersection of crisis management, public affairs, strategic communications, and stakeholder engagement, with a focus on helping clients make sound decisions, establish control of the narrative, and protect credibility under pressure.

Devin brings nearly two decades of experience operating at the highest levels of Washington public affairs, including senior roles in the White House, across major federal agencies, on Capitol Hill, and in nationally prominent political campaigns. That experience gives him an unusual command of how issues evolve under public, political, and media pressure—and of how decision-makers, regulators, elected officials, reporters, and other critical stakeholders react when events accelerate. Clients turn to him not only for messaging, but for strategic counsel grounded in an understanding of how institutions respond, where risk compounds, and what it takes to move from reaction to control.

His work includes advising clients through internal and external investigations, periods of heightened regulatory scrutiny, litigation support matters, congressional oversight inquiries, labor relations challenges, and media-intensive rapid-response scenarios in which facts are evolving, and the cost of missteps is high. In these matters, he helps clients assess risk, coordinate messaging across legal, policy, and executive teams, engage key stakeholders with discipline, and respond in ways that protect institutional credibility while preserving room to operate. The through line in his practice is helping organizations navigate complexity without losing control of the broader strategic picture.

Before joining Narrative, Devin served as Press Secretary to Vice President Mike Pence, Senior Communications Advisor for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, a senior strategist on Governor Glenn Youngkin’s successful Virginia gubernatorial campaign, and an advisor to Vice President Pence’s presidential campaign. In those roles, he helped shape communications and rapid-response efforts in environments defined by relentless scrutiny, compressed decision-making, and little margin for error. He advised senior leaders during some of the most visible and politically sensitive moments in recent memory, developing the calm, discipline, and responsiveness that clients value when circumstances become volatile.

His broader executive branch and Capitol Hill experience includes senior public affairs roles at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Justice, where he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, as well as earlier service with Senator Rob Portman and as deputy campaign manager for Senator Tom Cotton’s 2014 reelection campaign. Across these roles, Devin developed the strategic discipline, operational fluency, and stakeholder instincts that now define his practice. He brings clients a rare combination of crisis-tested communications judgment and practical experience navigating the intersection of business, government, media, and public opinion—an asset for organizations facing consequential moments in which every decision is amplified, and every audience matters.

Devin’s practice spans a range of highly scrutinized and fast-moving sectors, including financial services, healthcare, technology, trade, higher education, and gaming. Across these industries, he advises organizations facing complex stakeholder environments, heightened public visibility, and legal, regulatory, political, and reputational issues. His sector experience strengthens his ability to tailor strategy to the specific pressures, audiences, and institutional dynamics that shape outcomes in each context.