Ballard Partners is adding Dubai- and London-based strategic communications firm Farrant Group to the Ballard Global Alliance.
The partnership connects Farrant Group’s communications and reputation-management work with Ballard Partners’ lobbying and government affairs operation in Washington and across the United States.
For Ballard Partners, the agreement brings the Global Alliance its first member firm in the United Arab Emirates and expands a Middle East presence that already includes offices in Riyadh, Tel Aviv and Istanbul. Farrant Group’s clients, meanwhile, will gain access to Ballard Partners’ U.S. lobbying network.
“Dubai has become one of the world’s great crossroads for diplomacy, capital, and commerce, and Farrant Group has earned the trust of governments and leaders operating in some of the most demanding and closely watched environments anywhere,” firm founder and President Brian Ballard said.
“Together, we will give our clients seamless, coordinated counsel from Washington to the Gulf and beyond.”
The firms said they will jointly offer government and public affairs work, strategic communications, crisis and reputation management, litigation and regulatory communications, and market-access and business-development services. The partnership will focus on clients with interests in the United States, the UAE and the United Kingdom.
Both firms will continue operating independently under their existing management.
Farrant Group says it has advised more than 25 national governments and senior leaders, along with private individuals, family enterprises and multinational organizations. Its work includes politics and elections, crisis communications, litigation and disputes, branding and strategic research.
“Rarely has geopolitics shifted so rapidly. Clients are facing growing challenges, global in scope, which they must navigate as effectively as possible with the best strategic support,” said Farrant Group founder and CEO Michael Farrant. “Farrant Group is delighted to be working with Ballard Partners in this regard and looks forward to a collaboration that delivers the results clients have come to expect.”
The Ballard Global Alliance is Ballard Partners’ international network of partner firms. Ballard Partners has previously announced agreements with firms in Australia, Italy, Argentina, South Korea and Japan.
