Brent Buchanan is an international pollster and messaging strategist based in Washington, DC.

Mr. Buchanan, who was recognized by the American Association of Political Consultants as a “40 Under 40” and by Campaigns & Elections as a “Rising Star,” has served in multiple polling, communication, and strategy roles for governors, presidents, legislative leaders, and major corporations. He serves on the executive committee of the International Association of Political Consultants and as its treasurer.

Mr. Buchanan is founder and president of Cygnal, an award-winning international polling, public opinion, and predictive analytics firm also based in Washington, DC, whose clients include Fortune Global 500 companies, foreign heads of state, presidential campaigns, U.S. senators, congressmen, dozens of state legislative caucuses, and trade associations. The company is recognized by Inc. 5000 as the fastest growing private research company in the U.S. and in the top 15% of growth for all private American companies. Cygnal conducted more than 800 surveys in 2020 and over 1,300 surveys in 2022 in U.S. and 17 other countries with a 96% accuracy rate.

Matt has more than 30 years of experience working on complex, controversial, and high-profile issues for public and private sector clients, candidates for elected office, and ballot measure campaigns. Klink has worked for corporate and political clients in over 35 countries on six continents.

Matt has worked against some of California’s and Los Angeles County’s most high-profile revenue and tax measures. He recently served as lead consultant in opposition to a controversial property tax measure in the Los Angeles area. Outspent by more than 6:1 and facing widespread support from area politicians, Klink developed and implemented a highly targeted opposition campaign that held the initiative’s proponents to 46% of the vote.

Matt’s past work experience includes a senior-level position as Director of Government Affairs for Philip Morris International, based in Lausanne, Switzerland. He led a team that created and executed communications and stakeholder outreach programs on regulatory and fiscal issues. Klink has also owned and/or partnered in three public affairs and government relations firms, where he generated millions of new business revenue.

Matt holds an M.A. in political management from The George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management and a B.A. in History from the University of California at Berkeley. He is the immediate past president of the International Association of Political Consultants. He serves on the Governing Board of the Graduate School of Political Management and on the Board of Raise the Barr Foundation.