Drew DeLong leads Kearney’s corporate statecraft work as part of Kearney Foresight, helping executives navigate the growing overlap between business operations, government action, and geopolitical change.

His work starts with a problem many leadership teams now face: government is no longer a distant stakeholder. Policy, trade, national security, and industrial strategy can now change the economics of a company almost overnight. Drew helps clients understand what is happening outside the business, decide what matters most, and build practical responses that fit their strategy and operating reality.

Before joining Kearney, Drew worked across the White House, the State Department, Capitol Hill, and federal agencies. At the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, he focused on international economics, the US–China relationship, and great power competition. That experience shaped a view that now sits at the center of his client work: companies need to treat external uncertainty as an operating issue, not just a public affairs issue.

“I saw government becoming more involved in private commerce as a means of national security,” Drew says. “Our clients were going to have to face that. Now that trend has only accelerated.”

Drew is most energized by clients who see the shift and want to move, not freeze. That may mean reducing tariff exposure, rethinking a global manufacturing footprint, preparing for more localized production requirements, or deciding how to compete when policy changes reshape markets. In each case, the question is not only what might happen next. It is what the company can do now.

“The work is hand to hand,” he says. “You’re learning together, making sense of the uncertainty of the day while keeping both eyes on what matters most.”

That way of working is also what drew him to Kearney. As an MBA student at Southern Methodist University, Drew was interested in the firm’s Global Business Policy Council and its legacy in operations. What convinced him was seeing the culture up close during his internship: teams working side by side with clients, building answers that could actually be used, and avoiding recommendations that sit on a shelf.

Today, Drew brings the same standard to his own teams. He describes his leadership style as “collegial tenacity,” an open, familiar way of working with a clear focus on client outcomes. “Everything starts with the customer, which in our case is the client,” he says. “At the end of the day, it’s all people. How you make people feel and what they think when they see your name is your brand.”

Drew holds a degree in civil engineering and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. Outside work, he stays close to family and friends across Dallas, Memphis, Nashville, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. In Dallas, you’ll often find him working out, walking the Katy Trail, playing video games, and learning golf. Drew also serves on the strategic council of the Silverado Policy Accelerator and is, by his own account, an avid football fan once August arrives.

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