Eleanor S. McManus

Eleanor McManus is co-founder and partner of Trident DMG, and co-founder of the law firm Davis Goldberg & Galper.

Eleanor is a former award-winning journalist and was recently named one of the “Best Public-Relations People in the Tech Industry” by Business Insider. Recently she was named to the 2019 Lawdragon’s Global 100 Leading Consultants and Strategists.

Eleanor was also rated in the 19 top public relations experts CEOs hire in a crisis.

She provides clients with strategic counsel for internal and external communications, crisis management, media relations, branding, reputation management, issue mitigation, and litigation communications.

Eleanor works with emerging and high-growth tech companies, investors and entrepreneurs to develop their brand from executive positioning and thought leadership to market positioning, product launches, financing rounds, and public affairs campaigns. Eleanor also works in coordination with top litigators and attorneys, she develops communication strategies to navigate litigation and legal issues. She has also worked with a number of companies developing communications strategies surrounding large government settlements.

She has counseled a variety of clients from startups to unicorns, private equity firms, national restaurant chains, national hotel chains, biotech companies, pro-athletes and elected officials.

Eleanor has a proven track record of defining and driving communications and media strategies, securing media stories in print, radio, and broadcast outlets, including The Washington Post, New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, The Hill, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC News, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Wired, Tech Crunch, ReCode, and Vanity Fair.

She is also a sought-after media trainer for high-level executives, preparing CEOs and other corporate leadership for public appearances, speeches, and broadcast interviews.

Previously, Eleanor was a senior vice president at a prominent communications firm in Washington, D.C., where she crafted strategic communications campaigns focusing on media relations and crisis communications. Eleanor came to that firm through the acquisition of the bipartisan public affairs firm Purple Nation Solutions, which she co-founded with former White House special counsel Lanny Davis and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.

Eleanor began her career at CNN as a journalist. With over a decade of experience as senior producer of CNN’s highest rated program Larry King Live, Eleanor was responsible for planning, booking, and producing exclusive interviews with iconic newsmakers and well-known political figures including Presidents Obama, Clinton, and Ford, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, every Presidential candidate in both 2004 and 2008, foreign leaders including Russian Presidents Mikhail Gorbachev, Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Queens Noor and Rania of Jordan.

At CNN, Eleanor worked on a number of historical events including the September 11th attacks, Hurricane Katrina, the passing of Presidents Ford and Reagan, the inauguration of President Barack Obama, and the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

Eleanor is a recipient of an Emmy as well as an Edward R. Murrow award for September 11th coverage, a 2005 DuPont award for coverage of the tsunami disaster in South Asia, a 2005 and 2008 Peabody award for coverage of Hurricane Katrina and outstanding political coverage of a U.S. Presidential campaign, and a 2010 Peabody award for coverage of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Eleanor is a founder of Press Forward, an independent and nonpartisan effort that aims to create a safe work environment and elevate the stature of women in workplace, beginning in the newsroom.

She graduated from Brandeis University with a BA in economics and sociology and received a MA in journalism and public affairs from American University. Eleanor is fluent in Russian and Spanish.