Chief Public Affairs Officers: Tech’s Real Power Brokers

Chief Public Affairs Officers (CPAO) at major technology firms will face unprecedented challenges in Q4 2025, operating in an environment of intense regulatory scrutiny and geopolitical pressure. Companies are spending incredible amounts to influence policy as federal agencies ramp up AI algorithm enforcement and antitrust investigations. Layer on an geopolitical environment where much of the globe is less trustful of US-led technology, the volatility of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and you have a high stakes game with a lot on the line. That is a tremendous amount of risk to manage without having real-time intelligence.

For CPAOs managing these complex challenges, access to real-time executive communications on platforms like LinkedIn has become mission-critical for effective government relations strategy. Decisions made without the freshest executive comments could be misguided—or just plain wrong.

We set out to examine the Chief Public Affairs Officers at some of tech’s largest companies—what they’re talking about, and how well their messages are landing via our proprietary "Clout" score (the higher the score the more effective the messaging). We will share more information about our 'Clout' rankings in future posts.

Reminder: this novel dataset—and the real-time perspective on RISK that it unlocks—can only be found at Cometrics.io. Contact us to learn more.

CPAO Snapshot

Joel Kaplan - Chief Global Affairs Officer, Meta - CLOUT SCORE / 23%

Joel Kaplan of Meta celebrates the milestone of “one billion downloads of Llama,” framing open source AI as the key to U.S. global leadership and innovation in technology. He stresses that “open source is the best way to spread the benefits of AI,” and argues that the emergence of a global AI standard should be rooted in “American technology and American values,” especially with strong competition from Chinese models. Kaplan’s messaging positions Meta’s open source AI leadership as central both to maintaining U.S. competitiveness and to ensuring that international AI norms reflect democratic ideals.

Eric Loeb - EVP Global Government Affairs & Public Policy, Salesforce - CLOUT SCORE / 77%

Eric Loeb’s leadership emphasizes human-centred AI, stating “the real magic lies in that partnership: people and AI working together, achieving more than either could alone,” while also engaging actively in global policy arenas. Loeb's communications routinely intersect AI innovation with the broader world of geopolitics, positioning technology as a lever for international cooperation and policy influence.

Clete Willems - Chief Global Affairs Officer, Netflix, Inc. - CLOUT SCORE / 87%

Since 2023 Willems has been a vocal advocate for modernizing trade agreements to align with U.S. interests. “Reimagining the TPP,” co-authored with the Asia Society’s Wendy Cutler, which foregrounds his ongoing effort to reignite conversation on modernizing trade agreements to align with U.S. interests. 

Aquila Powell - Head of Federal Affairs, AirBnB - CLOUT SCORE / 24%

Aquila Powell’s communications highlight a strong commitment to impactful public policy, with frequent emphasis on community strengthening, disaster relief, and affordable housing initiatives led by Airbnb. She focuses on building coalitions with lawmakers, facilitating policy briefings, and promoting equity and inclusion, consistently positioning the private sector as an active partner in solving urgent social challenges through pragmatic engagement and advocacy.

Reminder: this novel dataset—and the real-time perspective on RISK that it unlocks—can only be found at Cometrics.io. Contact us to learn more,