PHOTOS: Courtesy Prime Strategies
Brian May
Teye Reeves
Cory Guzzo
Jorge Chamizo
Charlie Dudley
Gary Guzzo
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, “He was liked on both sides of the aisle, which made for a very unique place working together with the Diaz-Balart brothers and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,” he said. “It was a great group.” Sharon said his “real introduction” to Florida politics came when Meek ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010. That was the election when Jeb Bush flirted with a run, Alex Sink demurred, Charlie Crist jumped into the fray, and Marco Rubio ended up winning. Florida’s politics-as-usual, he said, are complicated and challenging, but like the song says, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. “The twists and turns that happen here … make for seasoned, tough, experienced professionals. People who work in politics, people who work for elected officials, the reporters who cover those elected officials, you’re playing at a much higher level than most anywhere else.”
Sharon would go on to work as a senior communications professional for the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. At the helm of the New York City office is Cecilia Norat, a consultant who was formerly a C-Suite executive for the multinational insurance group AIG. “She went through the financial crisis with them (and) was a big part of helping them out of that,” May said. “She has the full crisis communications piece. A big corporation like AIG has foreign implications as well; they do business all over the world. She brings a unique skill set to the table.” Other members of the Floridian Partners staff include Julie Caputo, who will work from the Miami office, and Tallahassee-based Teresa Coulter. With Florida literally positioned at the crossroads of the world, the principals say Prime Strategies is can also be a springboard to serving international clients, too.
“Rick Scott has shone a light on some of this; look at … what Florida’s done over the years to reach out to other countries for trade partners and for corporate relocates and for people to put an anchor down in (the state),” Dudley said. “We think those relationships can go both ways—where those clients are going to need help over here and in other markets as well.” ][ For more information on Prime Strategies, visit their website at prime-strategies.com.
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