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Ballard Partners, a global government relations firm with offices from Tallahassee and Tampa to Tel Aviv, is opening a new office in Fort Myers — and has hired a well-known Southwest Florida politico to run it.
Dane Eagle, who served more than two years overseeing the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity under Gov. Ron DeSantis, will open the Fort Myers office for Ballard, according to a statement. Eagle was secretary for the DEO from September 2020 until late last year. Prior to that role, Eagle, a Republican, was a state representative from 2012 to 2020, representing Cape Coral. He rose to the rank of majority leader, the release adds, where he was responsible for leading the Republican Caucus and ushering legislation to the governor’s desk.
"Dane's experience as a state legislator and as Governor DeSantis' top economic development official will make him an invaluable member of our firm," says Ballard Partners Founder and President Brian Ballard. "We are delighted to have Dane bring his extensive experience to serve the firm's clients in Tallahassee and also open our new office in Fort Myers to serve Southwest Florida."
In the private sector, Eagle has two decades of experience in real estate, most recently as a commercial real estate broker in the Southwest Florida market. During his tenure in the House, Eagle also served as the majority whip and the chair of the Energy and Utilities Subcommittee, in addition to majority leader.“I am honored to become a part of the exceptional team of professionals at Ballard Partners,” Eagle says in the release. “I look forward to establishing a strong presence in Tallahassee and am particularly excited to help the firm expand into the fast-growing Southwest Florida area.”
The move to open a Fort Myers office follows an announcement late last year that Ballard Partners opened an office in downtown Sarasota. Todd Josko, a managing partner with the firm, led that expansion. Ballard Partners has been named by state and national publications as the leading government affairs firm in Florida and as one of the top firms in the nation’s capital. It has offices in Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; Boston; Tallahassee; West Palm Beach; Jacksonville; Miami; Fort Lauderdale; Orlando; Tampa; Sarasota; Fort Myers; Tel Aviv, Israel; and Istanbul.
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