Dan is the founder and principal of Polaris Consulting, LLC and the Polaris-Hutton Group. . Under Dan’s stewardship, Polaris has grown into one of the most sought after boutique lobbying firms in our nation’s capital. Polaris currently represents an elite roster of Fortune 100 companies and top tier trade associations, and has been ranked as a top-performing government relations firm by Bloomberg every year since 2016. Polaris brings campaign style intensity and tactics to issue advocacy on behalf of its clients which often leads to successful results.
In addition to his duties as Polaris’ Managing Partner, Dan also serves on the steering advisory committees for several Members of Congress and candidates. Dan is respected by elected leaders on both sides of the aisle for being an honest broker and trying to bring both sides together on complicated legislative and regulatory issues.
Prior to establishing Polaris, Dan managed the telecom, financial services and energy practices at a top 10 Washington DC based government relations firm. Dan is an eleven-year veteran of Capitol Hill. He served as Chief of Staff to Governor and former Congressman Bob Riley (R-AL). In addition to serving as Riley’s Chief of Staff, Gans was a Senior Advisor to Riley’s successful campaign for Governor Campaign in 2002. Prior to joining the Riley staff, Dan also served as the Legislative Director to former Congressman and current Federal District Court Judge, William Martini. Dan began his Capitol Hill career in the fall of 1991 and worked for several members on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Dan majored in Political Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder and is a member of the CU Alumni Association (Former Vice President of the local Washington DC chapter). He and his wife Laura, along with their two daughters (Ellie & Maggie) are active members of Temple B’Nai Israel Belleair, Florida.