Before the White House, Gillifillan was a founding partner and chief financial officer at Torch Communications LLC, a public relations firm that focuses on communications for science- and technology-focused organizations. He was previously a vice president for Feinstein Kean Healthcare, which is now part of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. He worked there from 2007 to 2011, and was a communications consultant at RTG Communications from 2005 to 2007.
Gillfillan earned a BA in media communications from DePaul University and attended Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law.