Craig Fuller; from politics to corporate public affairs, this insider does well on the outside

For Craig L. Fuller, luck seemed so elusive. As the right hand man for Vice President George Bush, he was in an ideal position after his boss was elected president in 1988. Fuller was viewed as a good bet to become the presidential chief of staff. And as an alternative, he could always go into private business and make some money.

Fuller was willing to serve Bush in the top slot, but the president wanted someone tougher, brasher. So Bush got John Sununu. And Craig Fuller got a real job.

In his last White House assignment, he served as the transition team director. Between 1989 and 1991, Fuller moved in quick succession from a partnership in the public relations firm Wexler, Reynolds, Fuller, Harrison & Schule Inc., to the head of Hill and Knowlton USA.

Then what seemed like bad luck in 1989 turned into great luck, especially when Philip Morris Inc. named Fuller the Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs. Although its no easy task to set the strategy for all of the industry giant's public affairs programs, his broad experience is a useful commodity for an assertive conglomerate which produces everything from cigarettes to less controversial products like ice cream, chocolate, bagels, bacon, and beer worldwide.

Fuller's successful transition into the private world is a model many politicos try to duplicate. Big corporations hire many former high ranking public officials for their political know-how, intuitive sense of personalities and relationships, and ability to navigate through the complex maze of government.

When Bush tapped Sununu for the White House job, Fuller wisely maintained his reputation as a team player by applauding the choice. He gained what others only dream about. He left government service on a wave of victory, earned big bucks, and still enjoyed being in the middle of Washington's inner circle. "If you put together a list of the top 10 unelected Republicans in Washington, he'd be one of them," says Ed Rogers, former deputy chief of staff for Bush. Fuller settled into his dual role of corporate executive and political insider with ease, so much so that he served as chairman of the Republican National Convention in 1992.

Though he counts many Democratic insiders as personal friends, Fuller's Washington influence went from the "ins" to the "outs" when Bush lost his reelection bid, "It is clearly different in the sense that hundreds of people in the government that I had gotten to know are now gone."

Fuller still sees a chance to meet his goals: to emulate men like George Shultz, former secretary of state, and Caspar Weinberger, former secretary of defense. "I admire that they were able to participate in the administration in Washington early in their careers, go off into the private sector, and come back later and make a contribution in the public sector."

One article described him like this: If Lee Atwater was spicy barbecue, Fuller is bran flake. At 6'1", he's a licensed pilot with his own single-engine Cessna Cutlass. Now, he and his wife, Karen, jetset from their home in McLean, VA. to an apartment in New York city.

Saying his only regret was George Bush's loss in the 1992 presidential race, Fuller is still the team player. A valuable quality for a man who has risen to the top rungs of both government and business. Craig Fuller proves there is life after politics. And a good one, indeed.

COPYRIGHT 1993 Campaigns & Elections, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group