LEADERSHIP
   
JEFF BALLABON, President
Prior to founding Ballabon Group, Jeff served as a senior executive at national media companies including Court TV, Channel One, and Primedia (Channel One’s parent and the largest targeted media company in the world). As head of Public Policy for Primedia, he shaped policy and communications affecting the decisions of hundreds of trade and commercial publications as diverse as New York Magazine, Seventeen, Motor Trend and Guns & Ammo, as well as 18 satellite television networks and About, the fourth largest Internet company in America.

Jeff has significant expertise in government relations, corporate communications, reputation and crisis management and during the past twelve years he successfully   has   run   a   number   of  complex  lobbying, grassroots,   and issue   campaigns   in Washington DC, and across the nation at the state and local levels. He has acted as communications advisor and spokesman on behalf of numerous clients and causes.

He is a graduate of Yeshiva University and Yale Law School and holds a degree in Talmudic Law from the Ner Israel Rabbinical College. He practiced law in New York City before going to Washington DC, where he was Legislative Counsel to Senator John Danforth (R-MO) and Republican Counsel to the Consumer Affairs and Product Safety Subcommittee of the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. In addition to his responsibilities in communications and government relations at Court TV, he also was oversaw a weekly block of programming for legal professionals.

Jeff has held leadership positions in numerous public policy organizations, among them the Federalist Society, the American Legislative Exchange Council, the Institute for Public Affairs and the Ronald Reagan Legacy Project. He has served on the board of the Cable Television Public Affairs Association and the government affairs council of the Magazine Publishers of America.

During the 108th Congress, Jeff was awarded a Certificate of Distinguished Service from the United States Senate. During George W. Bush’s administration, he has served on the President’s Council on the 21st Century Workforce as well as on the Distinguished Executive Review Board for the Presidential Rank Review Program.

Jeff also is Co-Director of the Jewish Humanitarian Foundation International, which helps build medical facilities in medically underserved areas of acute need.

He has been named by the Forward one of the “50 Most Influential” Jews in America.

Click here to learn more about Jeff's political campaign expertise.
 
NEAL YARM, Executive Vice President

Neal Yarm brings more than twenty-five years of operations and strategic communications experience working in or for the financial services industry.
After starting his career at Shearson American Express as an institutional hedge trader, Neal moved to marketing, communications and strategy/business development, with an emphasis on financial services.

For over 20 years, Neal has been an industry leader in designing and executing corporate image campaigns including public relations, marketing strategies and media plans. He is a pioneer in digital marketing and communications and has extensive experience quarterbacking projects including coordinating, directing and overseeing advertising agencies, public relations firms, digital content providers and event promoters.

Previously, Neal was a senior executive in charge of business development, strategy, and brand development at Omnicom Media's Bernard Hodes Group, where he advised global companies such as UBS, Travelers Insurance and Dresser-Rand. Neal also has helped craft brand identities in other sectors, advising such prominent brands as Motorola, Pfizer, Clorox Bleach and JetBlue.

Neal is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and holds an MBA in Marketing and a Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University.
 
KATHERINE FRIESS, Counsel

Katherine Friess is an attorney and lobbyist with expertise in the areas of tax and international trade policy, and a thorough knowledge of the technology and security industries.

For more than 10 years, Katherine who is a member of the Tax Coalition, has worked on a variety of issues in the legislative arena and has served as strategic communications counsel for clients in the technology industry. She specializes in creating and executing strategies that produce integrated corporate business plans, which provide a consistent message for government, media, and analyst relations, while driving integrated sales opportunities. Her clients have included, among others, Sun Microsystems, the Dominican Republic, GlaxoSmithKline, Fluor Corporation, the National Restaurant Association, AT&T, UST, L3 Communications, and USAir.

Previously, Katherine served as Tax and Trade Counsel to Senator Larry Pressler, where she handled Senate Finance Committee issues relating to tax and international trade policy. She concurrently served as Counsel on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, focusing on trade, exports, technology, and security issues.

Prior to advising Chairman Pressler, Katherine served as Tax and Trade Counsel to Senator Dave Durenberger while he served on the Senate Finance Committee. Beyond her responsibilities in tax and trade, she handled Senator Durenberger's banking, housing, telecommunications, technology and governmental restructuring issues. She was deeply involved in the drafting of the implementing legislation for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT/WTO). She began her career in public policy as an aide to Congressman Bill Frenzel, a former member of the House Ways and Means and Budget Committees.

Katherine has a BA (Political Science) from the University of Minnesota and an MA (International Relations) and JD from the University of Denver. She also studied at the University of London College of Law while working for a British Barrister's Chambers that specialized in European Union trade litigation.
 




  “Jeff Ballabon of the Ballabon Group is the A-list, behind-the-scenes negotiator, facilitator and liaison between governments and private enterprise in this country and abroad.”
 
G Gordon Liddy, Radio America, October 22, 2007