# William Ferguson Jr.

> William (Bill) Ferguson Jr. (1943-2024) founded The Ferguson Group in 1982 and served as CEO for more than 30 years. His work centered on local government, land use, water resources and infrastructure financing. He also founded and formerly led eCivis, and launched a Harvard Kennedy School executive-program scholarship for ICMA members in 2011; the scholarship was named in his honor in 2024.

- **Role:** Government relations consultant, lobbyist and entrepreneur
- **Organizations:** The Ferguson Group (TFG), eCivis, National Center for Municipal Development, Harbor Entrepreneur Center, Co-Lab
- **From:** Bronx, New York, United States
- **Education:** B.A. in History and Political Science, Michigan State University, Boston University, University of Southern California, Harvard Kennedy School
- **Known for:** Founded TFG and served as CEO for more than 30 years., Developed a strategy resulting in congressional approval of $265 million for toll-road projects., Led the lobbying team behind a financing provision that helped form the basis of TIFIA in TEA-21.

## Career timeline

- **mid-1970s** — Began lobbying; worked for Representative Paul Tsongas after arriving in Washington from Massachusetts, and later joined the National Center for Municipal Development.
- **1982** — Founded The Ferguson Group with three clients.
- **2000** — TFG founded eCivis under Ferguson’s direction.
- **2011** — Launched a full-tuition Harvard Kennedy School executive-program scholarship for an ICMA member; Douglas J. Hewett was the first recipient.
- **2016** — Listed with eCivis CEO James Ha as session leaders introducing the Harvard executive program at ICMA’s annual conference.
- **2024-02** — ICMA scholarship named in his honor; TFG reported 45 staff serving more than 160 communities.
- **2024-05-26** — Died in Charleston, South Carolina, aged 80.

## Achievements

- Founded TFG and served as CEO for more than 30 years.
- Developed a strategy resulting in congressional approval of $265 million for toll-road projects.
- Led the lobbying team behind a financing provision that helped form the basis of TIFIA in TEA-21.
- Founded and formerly led eCivis.
- Launched the ICMA Harvard executive-program scholarship in 2011; it was named in his honor in 2024.

## Latest updates

- **—** — Michael Pleus, city manager of DeLand, is listed by ICMA as the 2025 scholarship recipient; month not established.
- **2024-05** — TFG published a tribute following Ferguson’s death on May 26, 2024.
- **2024-02** — TFG announced that ICMA’s Harvard scholarship had been named in Ferguson’s honor.

## Links

- Website: https://www.thefergusongroup.com/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/william-ferguson-jr
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22