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Ballard Partners has picked up the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games as a client.
The devastating Southern California wildfires led some to question whether LA can accommodate the estimated 15M visitors who plan to attend the Games, while restoring destroyed infrastructure.
None of the Olympic sites were damaged by fires, though the Rose Bowl was in an evacuation zone for the Eaton Fire.
The Palisade Fire, which was between Malibu and Santa Monica, triggered an evacuation of Riviera County Club, site of host the golf competition.
Casey Wasserman, who heads LA28, visited Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month to update the president on the planning for the Games.
Trump predicted LA will host the greatest Olympics ever, and that the Games will go off without a hitch.
Brian Ballard, a top Trump fundraiser, heads his firm’s lobbying team that includes Patrick Kilcur, former executive VP-US government affairs at the Motion Picture Assn; and Michael LaRosa, who was communications director for Speaker Nancy Pelosi and press secretary for First Lady Jill Biden.
Ballard Partners has signed to a represent the US unit of Rheinmetall, Germany’s biggest defense contractor, on Army procurement issues.
BGR Group signs on to provide lobbying and PR services for Terzo, an AI financial intelligence platform. Douglas Lute, chair of BGR’s international and defense practices, will join Terzo’s board of directors.
Avoq has landed Palantir Technologies, the controversial surveillance company founded by right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel, as a client.
Anne Kierig, who was senior manager of public policy at Amazon, has joined the American Advertising Federation as VP-government affairs. She takes over for Clark Rector, who is retiring after a 37-year run at AAF.
TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, which was established in compliance with the executive order signed by President Trump, has hired Valcour LLC, which has close ties with his administration.
