Inside Influence: The Evolution of Corporate Affairs

On this week’s episode of Inside Influence with David Castagnetti and Brody Mullins, we talk with Troy Stang about how he rose from milking cows at 4am on his family’s farm to running one of the largest associations of credit unions in the country.
After working for the Treasury Department under President George W. Bush, Stang went to work for the same industry that helped his family sustain their family business for generations.
At a time when populism is taking root in Washington and across the country, Stang talks about how he is positioning his association of Main Street businesses to take on the larger players on  K Street.  
 

Today’s episode of Inside Influence features Bill Miller, the president and CEO of the American Gaming Association. Bill talks with us about balancing the interests of important CEOs, how he deals with representing both the mammoth Las Vegas casinos and a range of startup, online gaming firms – and how the key to getting members of Congress to act quickly is to motivate their constituents.

Today’s episode of Inside Influence features Chris Cillizza, an independent political journalist on SubStack, YouTube, Monumental Sports, Noosphere and others. As a former political reporter for the Washington Post, Roll Call and CNN, Chris talks with us about how the media works today, why landing a big story in The New York Times isn’t what it used to be and the reveals the dangers of trying to catch a from one of the best pitchers in Congress. 

Today’s guest is Melika Carroll, Vice President of Global Affairs and Public Policy at Cohere, an enterprise AI company tackling some of the biggest policy challenges in technology and energy across the globe. Melika also serves as Chair of Reliability First, lectures at The Washington Campus, and co-founded the Global Women’s Innovation Network.Melika shares how Cohere is navigating this complex global policy landscape—and we wrap things up with a story about one of the most memorable college jobs you’ll ever hear.

This week on Inside Influence, David Castagnetti and Brody Mullins speak with American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers, who talks about how his experience on Capitol Hill during the financial crisis helped him learn how to lead successful public affairs campaigns on behalf of the private-equity industry and now the energy sector.  
 

This week on Inside Influence, David Castagnetti and Brody Mullins speak with American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers, who talks about how his experience on Capitol Hill during the financial crisis helped him learn how to lead successful public affairs campaigns on behalf of the private-equity industry and now the energy sector.  
 

This week on Inside Influence, David Castagnetti and Brody Mullins speak with American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers, who talks about how his experience on Capitol Hill during the financial crisis helped him learn how to lead successful public affairs campaigns on behalf of the private-equity industry and now the energy sector.  
 

Peter Scher joins as today’s guest. Peter serves as Vice Chair at JPMorgan Chase, where he and his team have developed one of the most respected corporate affairs operations in the industry.  Tune in as he unpacks the origins, evolution, and guiding philosophy behind their approach, and addresses key geopolitical and domestic challenges now facing major American corporations.  This episode also features his candid thoughts on Broadway musicals.  
Hosts: David Castagnetti & Brody Mullins
Producer: Regina Anderson

Republican media strategist Kevin Madden joins “Inside Influence” to talk about how he helps clients get their message out in today’s fractured media environment, how companies bypass the mainstream press to develop their own content and why he still gets the Wall Street Journal delivered to his driveway each morning. 
Hosts: David Castagnetti & Brody Mullins
Producer: Regina Anderson

On the first episode of “Inside Influence, The Evolution of Corporate Affairs,” David Castagnetti and Brody Mullins unpack how Donald Trump’s second term differs from his first, debate whether influencing him is really chess or just checkers, and explore what a Democratic win in the 2026 midterms could mean for public affairs.
Hosts: David Castagnetti & Brody Mullins
Producer: Regina Anderson