Greg Crist is Chief Advocacy Officer and Head of External Affairs of the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), the world’s leading medical device technology trade association. In his role, Greg is responsible for the association’s advocacy efforts, representing industry interests from tax and trade policies through regulatory issues before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), CMS, EPA and other federal agencies. Greg also leads the public affairs team, responsible for all research, message development and communications for more than 400 global medtech companies. While doing so, Greg also maintains a strong network of external relationships, particularly in the health care, political, and business spaces.
Greg’s seasoned approach to advocacy strategy has resulted in monumental wins for the medical device industry, including the full repeal of the medical device tax in 2019. During the COVID-19 crisis, Greg has advocated for industry in front of senior HHS, EPA, DoD and Administration officials.
Prior to his time at AdvaMed, Greg served as Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for the American Health Care Association, representing more than 16,000 long-term and post-acute care centers. During this tenure, Greg was responsible for all external communications with the media and aligned health care organizations, as well as all internal communications with more than 4 million health care providers.
Greg has extensive experience in utilizing media strategies for positive legislative outcomes. Prior to joining AdvaMed, he was Senior Vice President for Dutko Worldwide/Grayling. During this time, he launched and directed Strategy 360 –– specializing in crisis communications, polling and research.
Greg spent four years as the personal aide to Virginia Governor George Allen, then logged seven years in various congressional House leadership roles, including the Ways and Means Committee, the House Majority Leader, and the House Republican Conference.
Greg is a graduate of The College of William & Mary where he earned his degree in Public Policy. He is also a Sorensen Fellow at the University of Virginia – a program dedicated to ethics and public policy.