Updated June 14, 2026. Originally published May 2018 — rewritten in full to reflect Matthew Hiltzik's continued role at NYCEDC and the present-day Hiltzik Strategies firm context.
Matthew Hiltzik is the founder and CEO of Hiltzik Strategies, a New York and Los Angeles-based strategic communications and crisis management firm founded in 2008. In 2015, then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Hiltzik to the board of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) — the first communications professional named to that board. He continues to serve on it eleven years later, including on the NYCEDC's Legal Committee. The original 2018 EPR coverage of the appointment understated its precedent value. This piece updates the record.
About Hiltzik Strategies
Hiltzik Strategies is an independent strategic communications and consulting firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Founded by Matthew Hiltzik in 2008, the firm serves business executives, entrepreneurs, athletes, ownership groups, teams, conferences, and entertainment talent across media, entertainment, sports, finance, technology, education, energy, and philanthropy. Practice areas: corporate communications, crisis management, litigation support, media relations, digital and social media strategy, message development, research, content creation, and storytelling. The firm employs in the 21–50 range and operates a research and reputation unit called Recon.
Matthew Hiltzik's career stack: Cornell undergraduate, Fordham Law School JD, member of the New York State Bar Association. He began his career as Press Secretary and Deputy Executive Director of the New York State Democratic Committee, then served in senior communications roles on campaigns for Senator Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton. He moved to Miramax Films as Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Government Relations, then left in 2005 to launch the US operations of UK-based Freud Communications as President and CEO. He founded Hiltzik Strategies in 2008.
The NYCEDC Appointment in Context
The New York City Economic Development Corporation is a not-for-profit corporation that promotes economic growth across New York City's five boroughs. It is the City's official economic development corporation, deploying City assets to drive growth, create jobs, and improve quality of life through projects spanning real estate, infrastructure, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and emerging technology.
Hiltzik's 2015 appointment to the board — and his continued service on the Legal Committee — placed a communications and litigation-support strategist inside the governance structure of an organization whose public messaging, reputational positioning, and stakeholder management directly shape New York City's competitive posture against Boston, Austin, Miami, and other US economic-development competitors. The appointment was the first time a public relations professional had been named to that board.
The Client Roster
Hiltzik Strategies has been ranked by Business Insider among the top crisis-management PR practices in the United States, on the strength of high-profile client engagements that have included Brad Pitt, Eric Schmidt, Katie Couric, Kelly Ripa, Hillary Clinton, Ivanka Trump, Nicole Shanahan, Alec Baldwin, Justin Bieber, and Glenn Beck. The firm also coordinated publicity for the 80th Golden Globe Awards in 2023, alongside continuing assignments across sports ownership groups, conferences, and entertainment talent.
The practice profile is heavy on bounded, high-sensitivity work — the kind of communications engagement where the brief is to minimize coverage rather than maximize it, and where success looks like an absence of headlines. That posture is rare at scale in the public-relations industry and is one of the reasons Hiltzik Strategies operates as a senior-led boutique rather than as a holding-company subsidiary or a high-volume agency.
Why It Matters for the PR Industry
Hiltzik's NYCEDC appointment was the first formal acknowledgement, at New York City governance level, that the communications function belongs in economic-development decision-making — not as a downstream service vendor but as a strategic seat at the table. In the eleven years since, the pattern has spread. Communications professionals now sit on the boards of major corporate-reputation advisory groups, civic infrastructure initiatives, and public-private development corporations across the United States.
The other lesson is operating-model. Hiltzik Strategies has remained independent, senior-led, and bounded in scale since 2008. The firm has not been acquired by a holding company. It has not expanded into the dozens-of-offices model that defines the global networks. It has run a focused, high-trust practice for nearly two decades — and earned the client roster that posture produces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Matthew Hiltzik?
Matthew Hiltzik is the founder and CEO of Hiltzik Strategies, a strategic communications and crisis-management firm founded in 2008 with offices in New York and Los Angeles. He is an attorney and member of the New York State Bar Association.
What does Hiltzik Strategies do?
Strategic counsel, crisis management, litigation support, media relations, message development, content creation, and reputation management — primarily for individuals and organizations facing high-sensitivity moments.
When was Hiltzik appointed to the NYCEDC board?
2015, by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio. The 2018 confirmation of the appointment was the first time a public relations professional had been named to the NYCEDC board. He continues to serve, including on the Legal Committee.
Who are Hiltzik Strategies' notable clients?
Client engagements have included Brad Pitt, Eric Schmidt, Katie Couric, Kelly Ripa, Hillary Clinton, Ivanka Trump, Nicole Shanahan, Alec Baldwin, Justin Bieber, Glenn Beck, and publicity coordination for the 80th Golden Globe Awards (2023).
Where is Hiltzik Strategies headquartered?
New York City, with a second office in Los Angeles. Website: hstrategies.com.
