Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Grows Florida Government Relations Group with Addition of Michael Grissom and Mark Kruse
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – January 8, 2021 – Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney adds veteran government affairs professionals, Michael Grissom as principal and Mark Kruse as senior advisor to its Florida State Government Relations group.
“Mike and Mark bring decades of executive branch, legislative and policy experience, and we are thrilled to welcome them to our government relations practice. Our clients will benefit from their insight and expertise related to economic development initiatives, rural infrastructure, business relocation incentives and more,” said Michael P. Harrell, Chair, Florida State Government Relations.
“I’m excited to collaborate with Buchanan’s teams in Tallahassee and Washington, DC as we advocate for our clients in Florida and get the state’s economy back on track,” said Grissom.
“As I transition back to private practice, I am looking forward to using my law degree and legislative knowledge to help Buchanan’s clients meet their policy goals in Florida,” added Kruse.
Grissom has nearly 20 years of local, state and federal election and policy experience. Prior to joining Buchanan, he worked at a Florida law firm and also served as Executive Vice President of Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI), a public private partnership charged with job creation in the state, where he led legislative and external affairs efforts on behalf of the organization. Additionally, Grissom served as Executive Director of the Republican Party of Florida and as Senior Director of Political Affairs at the Florida Chamber of Commerce as well as working as political strategist for former Governor Rick Scott and former Attorney General Bill McCollum. He received his B.A. from the University of Central Florida.
Kruse joins Buchanan from Governor DeSantis’s Office of Policy and Budget, Transportation and Economic Development Unit where he served as a Policy Coordinator. He also served in several positions in former Governor Rick Scott’s administration. In addition to his time in the Executive Branch, Kruse served on staff in various capacities in the Florida House of Representatives and on staff in the Florida Senate in the Commerce Committee. He also has extensive private sector small business experience due to his time as Assistant General Counsel/ Director of Loan Closing to Florida First Capital Finance Corp. and several years in private practice. He holds a lifetime appointment as an International Civil-law Notary, one of less than 200 attorneys in Florida with that distinction. He received his J.D. from the Florida State University College of Law and his B.A. from the American University.