Quayle signs up with firm.(Dan Quayle joins JD Ford and Co.)(Interview)

Former VP to stump for investment bank

The man most remembered for his verbal faux pas while holding political office has returned to the world of business.

Former Vice President Dan Quayle has accepted a post as principal for a small Denver-based investment banking firm, JD Ford & Company, a far cry from the highly scrutinized political fish bowl he has been living in since his four-year stint in the White House and his subsequently unsuccessful attempt at regaining the White House and capturing the Republican nomination for president in 2000.

Quayle, in town Tuesday at the company's 12th floor offices at 650 S. Cherry St., and Joe Durnford, the firm's managing partner, agreed to sit down and chat with The Denver Business Journal about their partnership and Quayle's new role as an entrepreneur.

The two met at a political event about four years ago and were reintroduced to each other in 1999 as Quayle was going through the "decision-making process regarding pursuing the presidency or not. That led us to form this partnership, so we're very excited about it," said Durnford.

Quayle is not only a principal of the company, but a minority investor as well.

What attracted Durnford to Quayle is his previous involvement in business as an entrepreneur, his family business experience and his longtime service on a number of public company boards.

"He …