Bill Buff, CEO & Senior Partner, Stratacomm — A Capitol Communicator Profile
Editor’s Note: Capitol Communicators is a profile series spotlighting the people shaping the present and future of advertising, digital, marketing and public relations in the Mid-Atlantic. This profile features Bill Buff, CEO & Senior Partner, Stratacomm.
“You’re either winning or you’re learning.” It’s a motto Bill Buff has carried from Little League coaching experience to the C-suite as CEO of Stratacomm. And at the end of the day, he says the business of communication comes down to something very human: relationships.
Buff sees plenty of parallels between coaching a team of young baseball players and leading a team of communications professionals: understand what makes each person tick, play to their strengths, offer real-time feedback, learn from setbacks — and, perhaps hardest of all for a coach or CEO, know when to get out of the way and let the team perform.
Buff has put those lessons to work, navigating enormous changes in Washington and in the communications business, including the unusual decision to buy the firm back from FleishmanHillard after a decade within its massive global network. He says the return to independence changed the trajectory of the agency. And the firm is still evolving: Stratacomm recently reorganized into three practice groups and expanded its leadership structure as it continues to evolve as a full-service agency, with expertise in public affairs, public relations and advertising.
We talked with Buff about his unlikely path from anthropology major to communications CEO, how Stratacomm is navigating uncertainty in Washington, and why strong relationships are more important than ever.
Bill, please tell us about yourself.
I’m a native North Carolinian who moved to Washington, D.C., after college and never left. I majored in anthropology at Davidson College, and early on I wondered what in the world I’d do with that degree. But Washington is a wonderful town for liberal arts majors, and anthropology taught me how to think, ask good questions and do the research needed to reach answers I can trust. It’s fundamentally the study of culture, and that has given me an appreciation for the role culture plays in an agency. Anthropologists are observers, and I still enjoy watching how culture, human interaction and teamwork shape great work.
I also met my wife at Stratacomm — our cubes were next to each other — and we now have a 9-year-old son. My parents recently moved to D.C., too, so it’s wonderful having family close by. I love this city and root for the local teams, especially the Washington Nationals.
What are the things you are most proud of?
From a work perspective, one of the things I’m proud of is the bet our partners made to buy Stratacomm back from FleishmanHillard and build it as an independent small business. It would have been easy to stay part of a much larger network. Instead, we chose the harder, riskier path — one that could have failed — because we believed independence would be better for our clients, our people and our culture in the long run. Looking back, that decision changed the whole trajectory of the agency, and I’m proud we bet on ourselves.
If my math is correct, you’ve been at Stratacomm for 25 years. That’s a remarkable tenure. Tell us about your journey there. What kept you there?
I was a Stratacomm client for three years before I joined the agency, working at a trade association on transportation policy. Through that work, it became clear that being around other professional communicators would help sharpen my skills. Around that time, the Stratacomm partner I’d worked with the closest called and asked if I’d ever thought about agency life. Someone was going on parental leave, and he thought I’d be a good fit. I started exactly one week after Sept. 11, 2001, which made for an unsettling onboarding, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
I’ve stayed because the learning has never stopped. I never expected to know as much as I do about transportation and energy policy, federal government contracting and any number of other topics along the way — federal contracting alone is complex but fascinating. I’ve also watched our own discipline evolve, from work that was mainly public affairs to a broader mix that now includes public relations and advertising, and that variety keeps the job interesting. I’ve enjoyed learning about business and people leadership as well. I’ve worked with great clients and wonderful colleagues, which keeps it fun.
Stratacomm’s evolution has been remarkable. What led you to buy the firm back from FleishmanHillard/Omnicom, what challenges did you face in the transition, and what lessons did you learn that might help other PR leaders? Perhaps share some thoughts about ‘buying back’ the company.
I was a junior partner when our principals sold a majority of the agency to FleishmanHillard in 2004, and for a decade we were part of the FH and Omnicom network. I learned a great deal during that time and built friendships I keep up today. But Stratacomm was a small fish in a very large pond, without much of a niche that made other agencies in the network want to work with us.
We’d always done federal government contracting, where small businesses matter. They’re often required to lead set-aside contracts, and large-business primes are usually required to subcontract with them. In every practical sense we were a small business, except that FH’s revenue and size counted against us, keeping us out of the small-business program. Around 2012 and 2013, we started making the case that Stratacomm would be worth more to everyone as an independent small business. We bought back majority ownership and control in 2014, then finished the job in 2021 by buying out FH’s remaining stake entirely.
Each step brought real challenges. First was internal alignment and making sure our partners all saw the value in taking on majority ownership. Second was finding the resources; funding mattered at every stage. Third, especially in 2014, was essentially reinventing the company. We were a 20-year-old startup in a lot of ways, including setting up our own back-office systems and support.
It’s been one of the best decisions we’ve made as business leaders, and the transition was amicable. FleishmanHillard and Omnicom remain teaming partners today, but so are plenty of other agencies, large and small. Being able to break away while keeping everyone’s respect — and staying open to work with anyone who’s right for a client — is something I’m proud of.
It’s been a challenging time in many ways for firms doing business in Washington. The communications industry is changing rapidly, coupled with huge uncertainties for government and for nonprofit clients. What strategies are you using to ride the tidal waves?
There’s tremendous uncertainty right now for federal agencies, for the nonprofits that work alongside them, for corporate clients navigating shifting policy, and for trade associations trying to make an impact here in D.C. But uncertainty is when good communications counsel earns its keep, and it’s the environment Stratacomm is built for.
We’re doubling down on being sector experts rather than generalists. Transportation and energy are where we’ve built our deepest benches, but that’s far from the whole playbook — we bring that same sector-first rigor across public affairs, public relations and advertising, whatever the issue. We’re not starting from zero when the ground shifts under a client. We’re also diversifying deliberately, building a healthy mix of federal, corporate and mission-driven work so no single disruption defines our year. And perhaps most importantly, we stay close to clients when it’s uncomfortable. The instinct in volatile periods is to go quiet and wait for clarity, but that’s exactly when clients need us most.
We’ve heard you draw on your Little League coaching experience to guide you in creating Stratacomm culture.
There are real parallels, and I’m a better business leader because of my time coaching.
I’ve gotten better at understanding what makes each player tick and playing to their strengths. That matters more than shoring up weaknesses. I’ve also gotten better at real-time feedback; on the diamond, if you don’t deliver it in the moment, it doesn’t land. And you learn to get out of the way and let the team perform. My son is old enough now that coaches can’t be on the field when our team is on defense, so you need to let the kids figure it out themselves and draw on our coaching lessons.
But most important is when things don’t go well, you learn from it. One of my mottos this year has been that you’re either winning or you’re learning. As long as you take away real insight from a setback and do a little better next time, that’s what matters — on the diamond and at Stratacomm.
What are the skills that are necessary to be successful today?
Great writing is still at the center of everything we do. That won’t change, even with assistance from AI. You need to be comfortable working alongside AI without becoming dependent on it. Beyond that, you need to be genuinely curious and willing to keep learning. This business rewards people who ask good questions and do the research to back up their answer. While technology can help, it’s the human judgment, creativity and relationships that gets you to excellent work.
How are you employing AI in your work?
I use AI as a thought partner and an assistant for first drafts, not as a replacement for the work itself. My view is that AI raises the floor on mediocrity, but getting to true excellence still requires the human element. When I ask AI to draft something, I’m usually giving it a very detailed outline of exactly what I want to say. I encourage people early in their careers to lean into it — it would be malpractice to ignore AI at this point — but we can’t depend on it exclusively. Human judgment and human creativity are still critical to great work, and I see that every day with our team.
What would help you sleep better at night? And what brings you joy during the day?
Truth be told, I generally sleep pretty well. A little less uncertainty would be nice, though. Everyone jokes about living in unprecedented times but I’d take more precedented times and a little less volatility in government policy and in the economic whiplash our clients are dealing with.
What brings me joy is the Stratacomm team. Our shortest-tenured partner has been with the agency more than 10 years, so we have a stable leadership group full of great communicators who are also just really good people — some of my best friends. It’s a joy to work alongside them and to bring in new talent that makes us better.
And at the end of the day, my real joy is time with my son and my wife. Family has kept me grounded through a volatile 18 months. So while a little less volatility might help me sleep even better, there’s still plenty of joy to be found during the day.
What advice helped you most in your career, and is that advice still relevant today?
Someone once told me to pick your first job not for the title or the salary, but for who your first boss will be. I got lucky. My first boss taught me the importance of great writing. He was an excellent editor and gave me the chance to write talking points and speeches for members of Congress early in my career which gave me the bug. The way I approach advocacy campaigns, and the importance I place on messaging and quality writing, all trace back to that apprenticeship. It’s advice that’s just as relevant today as it was then and it applies to advertising and public relations as much as public affairs.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
If there’s one thread running through all of this — the FH and Omnicom buyback, the Little League coaching, staying close to clients in uncertain times — it’s relationships. None of it works without them. This is a business built on trust between people, whether that’s partners, clients or a kid on a baseball team, and that’s what I’d want people to take away.
Capitol Communicators profiles will allow you to meet some of the most interesting and insightful pros in our region, learn how they stay ahead of the curve and pick up practical wisdom during a time of constant change.
Capitol Communicator is a sister company of CommPRO.
