The story
1969–2006: Early history
ICF was founded in 1969 as the Inner City Fund. Its first president was Clarence D. Lester, a Tuskegee Airman, who was joined by three U.S. Department of Defense analysts. As a venture capital firm, Inner City Fund sought to finance and help minority-owned businesses win government contracts.
The company reorganized as a consulting firm and renamed itself ICF Incorporated. The firm transitioned from venture capital to consulting on energy issues for U.S. federal agencies, which was the company's main focus throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s.
ICF acquired Kaiser Engineering in 1988 and went public in 1989. The combined company became known as ICF Kaiser. Under this banner, the company worked in consulting, engineering and construction services. ICF and Kaiser split in 1999 when an investment group bought the consulting business for about $70 million.
In 2006, the consultancy was renamed ICF International and in September that year, the company went public, trading on the NASDAQ as ICFI. The company received criticism of its management of the Road Home program in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In an article in The Washington Post, the company said it had addressed problems raised in those criticisms, and that state and federal fraud-prevention rules were in flux and made the grants administration process more time-consuming. The company later supported the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts for the State of New Jersey.
2007–present: Expansion of commercial work
Beginning in the 2000s, ICF grew in size and scope through a series of acquisitions. These acquisitions expanded the services offered by ICF and moved the company more into the commercial space. In 2007, federal, state and local government contracts generated 92 percent of company revenues. Commercial work, which accounted for 6 percent of revenues in 2007, grew to 20 percent of revenues by 2011. By the end of 2016, commercial work accounted for 35 percent of revenues.
In 2012, the company expanded its international business by acquiring London-based GHK Holding Limited, a consulting agency working with government and commercial clients. In 2014, it expanded its European presence with the acquisition of Belgian communications firm Mostra S.A. Through GHK and ICF Mostra, the company has worked with the European Commission.
In 2014, ICF acquired advertising agency Olson for $295 million. The company's work includes campaigns for Belize; Skittles, whose "Marshawn Lynch’s Skittles Press Conference" was named PRWeek's Product Brand Development Campaign of the Year in 2016; and Puppy Bowl sponsor Bissell. In 2016, ICF created ICF Olson, a public relations and marketing division. In addition to Olson, the new division absorbed other ICF acquisitions, including digital service firm Ironworks and engagement house CityTech.
ICF International rebranded as ICF in 2016.
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In 2017, PRWeek reported growth in ICF/ICF Olson's public relations and digital business.
2019: ICF NEXT
In 2019, ICF launched subsidiary ICF NEXT, led by John Armstrong, who had previously co-founded IBM's Interactive Experience (iX) internal agency.
In 2023, ICF Next ceased operations in the United Kingdom; the UK company was dissolved in 2024.
From Wikipedia’s article on ICF International, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7