Darius Anderson is Founder and Chairman of Platinum Advisors, a full-service government affairs firm founded in 1998. It ranks in the top five California government advocacy organizations in terms of revenue. With offices in Sacramento, San Francisco, Orange County and Washington, DC, Platinum Advisors provides lobbying, real estate project development, procurement, public affairs and strategic consulting to corporations, governments, trade associations and non-profit organizations. Anderson was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors in 2018.
Widely recognized as one of California’s most effective political strategists, Anderson has successfully advised many of California’s highest-ranking political and business leaders and is involved in a variety of civic, charitable and governmental activities. Anderson previously served as Chair of the National Advisory Council for UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) and currently serves on the boards of UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, Californians Building Bridges and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. In 2010, he was appointed to California’s Political Reform Act Task Force.
Prior to founding Platinum Advisors, Anderson served as Chief of Staff for The Yucaipa Companies and as Vice President of External Affairs for Ralphs Grocery Stores, Inc., a Fortune 500 company. Between 1993 and 1998, he was responsible for The Yucaipa Companies’ business development efforts and for Ralphs Grocery Stores’ government affairs, public relations, community relations and external corporate communications. Anderson previously served as Executive Director of the Ralphs/Food 4 Less Foundation as well.
An accomplished entrepreneur, Anderson is also Founder and CEO of Kenwood Investments, LLC, a California Real Estate Development and Opportunity Fund, and Founder and Managing Member of Sonoma Media Investments, LLC, the owner and publisher of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and the Sonoma Index-Tribune. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for its fire coverage. In the wake of the 2017 fire disasters, Anderson founded the Rebuild North Bay Foundation.
A passionate collector, Anderson is the proud owner of world-class art and baseball memorabilia collections. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from George Washington University and currently lives in Sonoma.