Weeks after joining law firm, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez joins private equity firm
Coral Gables private equity firm DaGrosa Capital Partners has hired Miami Mayor Francis Suarez as a senior operating partner, the second new job for the mayor announced this month.
Suarez will co-lead the firm’s acquisition initiatives and domestic and international investment platform, according to the firm’s website.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to work with a growing private equity company and help build its business on verticals that do not conflict with my role as mayor since they do no business with the city nor will they,” he told the Miami Herald.
On May 10, national litigation firm Quinn Emanuel announced Suarez would be of counsel in a new Miami office. The mayor, a real estate attorney, left Greenspoon Marder for the job.
Now Suarez, 43, has two official jobs in addition to being mayor of Miami-Dade County’s largest city. Miami’s mayor is a largely ceremonial position with no vote on the commission and no power to run the city’s day-to-day operations. Suarez has to rely on his political influence to push his agenda with five city commissioners. Suarez earns a $97,000 base salary for being mayor, which is part of an overall compensation package of $130,600 that is set by the commission.
On Tuesday, Suarez said his new responsibilities at DaGrosa will “in no way conflict with the time and energy that I spend working for the citizens of Miami.”
“It’s a time commitment that is reasonable, and it’s something that will help me grow professionally,” he said.
The mayor said the firm’s chairman and founder, Joseph DaGrosa Jr., is a friend and former client at Greenspoon Marder. DaGrosa Capital Partners’ investments are predominantly in sports companies, particularly soccer, healthcare and real estate, according to the company’s website.
DaGrosa is chairman of Kapital Football Group and SoccerEx, a company that organizes soccer business conferences. DaGrosa has expressed interest in investing in Premier League soccer clubs, with hopes of building a worldwide network anchored by a European team, according to CNN.
This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 6:15 PM.
