Rich B. Bitonte

Prior to joining Zaino Hall & Farrin, Bitonte was the President and owner of his own firm, Bitonte Group LLC, for nearly 10 years. Bitonte Group was an independent lobbying and consulting firm in Columbus, Ohio, where he represented multiple clients in the government affairs arena as it related to all legislative and regulatory matters at all levels of government - the state, local and federal level. Most recently working in the areas of health care and higher education, Medicaid, the state budget process and state procurement, to name a few.

Before venturing out on his own and creating his own company, Bitonte Group LLC, Rich served as the managing partner and as VP of two different local lobbying firms in Columbus, where he represented multiple clients in the areas of health care, banking, insurance, gaming, procurement and technology, to name a few. Prior to that, Rich served in the public sector with the state of Ohio in a variety of capacities, in Governor’s Taft’s administration. The most recent being his service as director of legislative affairs for the Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS), & also before that he served as the senior legislative liaison at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). While working for the state for over 12 years, that allowed Rich to gain invaluable experience in the areas of state procurement, health care, Medicaid, human services, workforce development and unemployment compensation issues, among many others.

Rich started his career in the mid-1990s as the legislative aide for then, State Representative John Carey when he was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives. As Carey's senior legislative aide for nearly six years, this is where Rich really learned the legislative process, as well as how to navigate the always intriguing budget process and how a bill really becomes law.