Issues Management Group is an integrated strategic communication, public affairs, and digital firm guiding clients through complex, highly leveraged situations. Headquartered in Boston with a team in New York City, our group of more than 50 professionals is built to fit the increasing complexity of today’s communications, government, business, and digital landscapes, and help shape what’s to come.
We provide senior-level counsel, creative solutions, and compelling content in the rapidly changing sectors of healthcare, real estate, corporate and professional services, education, mission-focused, public service, energy, and cannabis.
At Issues Management Group, we take on the most difficult challenges and lead our clients to the best possible outcomes.

Our History
Our company has a strong and vibrant history going back to our roots in Boston as Solomon McCown & Company, founded in 2003. The firm became Solomon McCown & Cence (SM&C) in 2020, when Dan Cence was named CEO, Owner, and Managing Partner. Under Dan’s leadership, SM&C merged with Murphy Donoghue Partners in 2022, one of Boston’s most successful government relations firms, to operate as one under the Issues Management Group brand. IMG formally launched a New York City office in early 2023, signaling our expansion across the Northeast.
Issues Management Group has earned its place among the top Boston-based public relations firms with award-winning work on behalf of some of the most renowned and forward-thinking enterprises in the region and nation. In the past 19 years, the firm has received 134 awards for client work in various industry sectors ranging from corporate to non-profit and has been listed among Boston’s top 10 public relations firms by the Boston Business Journal. The firm has also been ranked in PRWeek’s Top 100 nationally and was a finalist for both PR News and PRWeek’s Small Firm of the Year.
Our Philosophy
We view our relationships with clients as true partnerships, and we live and work by a code of ethics:
- Work for clients we believe in
- Deliver on promises
- Hold ourselves to exacting work standards
- Provide excellent client service
- Work for clients’ bottom lines, not accolades
- Uphold honesty in billing and faithful results measurement
- Respect the media
- Conduct ourselves with honesty and sensitivity