In a career that has spanned the top levels of politics and corporate America, Ben Porritt has counseled and developed strategies for national campaigns both corporate and political. Porritt was a public face of the McCain-Palin campaign, serving as a national spokesman and senior advisor to the candidates during the 2008 presidential election.
Porritt is a partner of Outside Eyes, a communications firm that provides message strategy, brand development and crisis management for clients across a variety of industries. Porritt serves as a regular on-air contributor for MSNBC, FOX and ESPN and is an adjunct professor of communications at the University of Miami.
As a partner of Outside Eyes, Porritt has worked with companies and brands of varying sizes, advising them on corporate strategy ranging from corporate rollouts and grassroots marketing to brand development and crisis management. Porritt is regarded by many political and corporate leaders as one of the nation’s top media experts and has handled high profile crises including the political indictments, corporate bankruptcies, MLB steroid cases and multiple NCAA investigations.
Prior to joining Outside Eyes, Porritt worked for President George W. Bush as a campaign spokesman and as the Press Secretary to the United States House Majority Leader, a position defined by the New York Times as the third most difficult in Washington, DC. In this role, he helped develop and implement the strategic course for the Republican Party, focusing the party’s message on legislation and critical political issues.
Porritt earned a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and a Bachelors of Science in Political Science and History from Bradley University. Porritt is originally from Danville, IL and currently resides in South Florida.
Brightline is the first privately funded, maintained and operated passenger rail service built in America in over 100 years. Alongside a great team, I am overseeing public affairs, internal communications/culture and corporate communications.