Hayes was previously the President and co-owner of Capitol Asset Strategies.
For Immediate Release: August 1, 2025
Contact: Andrew Rosenberg, (202) 247-6301 (arosenberg@thornrun.com)
Washington, D.C. — Thorn Run Partners (“TRP”), one of America’s fastest-growing government affairs firms, announced today the addition of Chris Hayes as a Partner.
A respected policy advisor and attorney, Chris is widely recognized for his leadership in the digital asset ecosystem. With more than 15 years of experience navigating complex legislative, regulatory, and legal matters in financial services, Chris brings deep expertise in blockchain technology, tokenization, cryptocurrency, and capital markets.
Most recently, Chris served as President and Co-Founder of Capitol Asset Strategies, where he led the firm’s work advising clients at the intersection of financial services and emerging technologies. Prior to CAS, Chris held senior in-house government relations roles across both the digital assets and traditional financial sectors. He was an early leader in the crypto policy space, heading global government relations for the Celo Foundation, a Layer 1 blockchain, and later serving as U.S. head of government relations for Sorare, an NFT-based fantasy sports platform backed by Softbank. In both roles—and later at CAS—he played an active role in shaping regulatory frameworks for digital assets and stablecoins in both Brussels (MiCA) and Washington.
Before entering the digital asset space, Chris built a distinguished track record in capital markets and private funds regulation. He spent five years at the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), where he launched and led the association’s global advocacy program on behalf of over $2 trillion in private equity investment capital. During his tenure, Chris advocated on several groundbreaking issues in private fund regulation across the U.S. and EU, including the SEC private fund adviser rule, retail access to alternatives, and the AIFMD II. Chris also led an ILPA project to create the first free model limited partnership agreement for the private equity industry.
Chris also served as General Counsel at the Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA), where he helped champion legislation supporting BDCs, SBICs, and private fund advisers—including the successful creation of the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation at the SEC. Earlier in his career, he worked at FINRA and served as a legal fellow on the Senate Banking Committee during the drafting of the Dodd-Frank Act.
“This is a great get for our firm,” said TRP Co-Founder Andrew Rosenberg. “With the addition of Chris—on top of our existing strength in the financial services space—I believe Thorn Run is now among Washington’s clear leaders in the emerging crypto and digital assets sector.”
TRP Co-Founder Chris Lamond added, “In addition to his strong track record of success for his clients, Chris will make a great teammate. We are very excited to welcome him to the firm.”
The addition of Chris grows TRP’s roster of professionals to 55.
About Thorn Run Partners
Founded in January 2010 by veteran lobbyists Andrew Rosenberg and Chris Lamond, who previously served as staffers to Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Fred Thompson (R-TN), respectively, Thorn Run Partners is a full-service, 55-person government relations, policy and strategic communications firm with offices in Washington, DC, Portland, OR, and Los Angeles, CA. It has been recognized as a Top 10 lobbying firm by respected publications including Politico, The Hill, and Bloomberg that ranks among the nation’s most creative and effective government relations companies.