Jackson Hayes is a Partner at DGA Group and is based in Atlanta and New York.

Mr. Hayes specializes in Issues Management and Crisis Preparedness, advising clients on high-stakes, business-critical issues across a range of sectors, including aviation, financial services, healthcare, and other highly regulated industries. He designs and executes issue-specific communications programs that shape stakeholder perspectives, often in complex environments involving regulatory scrutiny, reputational risk, and operational disruption. He has a particular expertise in employee and labor engagement, helping shape the relationship between employers and their people and engage with represented and non-represented workforces.

Mr. Hayes helps lead the firm’s crisis preparedness offering, regularly conducting live crisis simulations and tabletop drills to embed crisis management best practices across communications teams and senior leadership. His experience spans a wide range of scenarios, from regulatory investigations and workforce-related challenges to patient safety issues and enterprise-level crises.

Mr. Hayes has led issue-specific communications programs across a range of industries, including advising a leading airline through a multiyear labor dispute as well negotiations with its pilots’ union; supporting a fast-moving consumer goods company navigating sustained scrutiny from U.S. regulators, Congress, media, and activist groups; and counseling a multibillion-dollar philanthropy facing allegations of program failures. He has also led crisis simulations for numerous Fortune 500 clients, including retail, financial services, and healthcare, covering scenarios ranging from active assailant incidents to executive malfeasance.