Top Koch network official leaving to launch new advisory firm

James Davis, a senior official within the political network helmed by Charles Koch, is leaving to launch his own marketing and communications firm.

In the past seven years, Davis rose to become a senior aide to Koch. He has held several other roles throughout the network, which became a powerful force in Washington politics by helping elect Republicans and pushing for conservative and libertarian free-market principles.

{mosads}The network has clashed with President Trump at times, frustrated by his trade wars and his style, but Davis played a key role as a conduit between the administration and Koch-backed groups for criminal justice reform and the GOP’s tax cuts bill, two of the administration’s biggest achievements. 

Davis is also credited with opening up the Koch network’s biannual seminars to reporters, resulting in warmer relations with the press and more coverage of the network’s philanthropic work.

Over the past year, the network has not been as vocal about election politics, instead rebranding under the name Stand Together and bolstering its philanthropic arms.

Davis’s new firm, which does not yet have a name, will count Stand Together as a client. Davis will remain on the board of directors for Americans for Prosperity, the Koch network’s political arm.

The new firm is also working with former NFL MVP Shaun Alexander and his wife Valerie Alexander to build a nonprofit group focused on strengthening family relationships.

Davis told The Hill that his firm will take on a mix of corporate and nonprofit clients, including a trade association and a venture capital fund.