Reflecting on 25 years

When I founded LNE Group in 2002, the firm was named for my three children: Lizabeth, Ned, and Ethan.

Our first office was cramped enough that the entire team had to gather around my desk to brainstorm. It did not take long to realize that we needed a little more room, and perhaps an office that looked less like we were just getting by.

We have moved a few times since then, but one thing has followed us: a United Way guitar that has greeted visitors in every office and become an unlikely piece of LNE history.

The firm itself has evolved even more.

We began largely as a campaign consulting business before quickly moving into government relations. One of our first major engagements involved helping a student-loan processing company relocate its headquarters from San Diego to Cleveland, in the middle of winter, as I still like to point out. We helped secure more than $2 million in public support for the move.

The company ultimately grew to employ more than 300 people, including many Cleveland residents for whom it represented their first opportunity to work in a professional office environment.

That project helped establish an idea that has stayed with us ever since: do well by doing work that creates real value for clients and communities.

From there, LNE expanded into Columbus, Washington, Europe, and eventually West Virginia. Our work grew from traditional government relations into public funding, economic development, strategic advisory, international projects, and business development.

Today, we have worked with hundreds of clients across industries, communities, and continents and helped secure more than $1 billion in public funding associated with client projects.

I am proud of those numbers, but I am prouder of the people behind them.

Many members of our leadership team have worked together for years, some for decades. They have built careers around understanding their clients, developing expertise, forming durable relationships, and helping one another solve problems that rarely fit neatly within one practice area.

That has always been the philosophy behind LNE: work for good organizations, hire talented people, and give them the opportunity to do great work.

As we approach our 25th anniversary in 2027, we are still growing, still exploring new markets, and still looking for the next interesting challenge.

Twenty-five years from now, maybe someone will be writing about LNE Group Mars.

Until then, thank you to the clients, colleagues, partners, and friends who have made the journey possible.