LEVICK Launches Business Intelligence Practice

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- LEVICK announced today the creation of its Business Intelligence practice, which will be based out of the firm's Washington, DC, headquarters, and led by Eric Lebson.

A former Department of Defense and National Security Council official, Lebson will serve as Senior Vice President and Practice Lead, working with a team of researchers and analysts that will provide strategic support to companies, organizations and countries seeking to gain the necessary insights to achieve their goals.

Joining Lebson in the new practice area as Senior Vice President is Ian McCaleb. McCaleb brings with him nearly two decades of experience as a national and international reporter, editor, television news producer and media relations consultant and analyst.  

LEVICK President, Mark Irion, said, "Communicating trust is not about spinning clever messages, but about knowing how and why things happen and what it will take to communicate in ways that build consensus. With our business intelligence unit, LEVICK intends to go into every assignment smarter and more prepared than our competition, and provide our clients the edge that superior information affords."

"Business intelligence is an essential element of operations in both domestic and international markets. Whether seeking growth opportunities or embroiled in conflict, companies need information to manage risk," said Eric Lebson. "LEVICK is an ideal match to bring to bear my government and private sector experience leveraging intelligence to help clients achieve their goals."

"With this expansion, LEVICK now has an opportunity to assist clients in mapping out, analyzing and comprehending immediately actionable data that will help them better understand the nuances of any obstacles," said Ian McCaleb. "Knowledge is the vital determinant between success and failure."

Eric Lebson recently ended an almost seven year series of positions in the US Government, running an important Defense policy team at the Pentagon, serving as a Director at the National Security Council, and, most recently, being posted to a highly prestigious two-year exchange position with Australia's Department of Defence, where he both designed and conducted their first-ever Strategic Risk Assessment. Previously, Lebson co-founded a Washington based risk advisory firm where he managed a variety of litigation support, due diligence (with a FCPA sub-specialty), and corporate intelligence for clients in the legal, investment, defense, energy, and infrastructure areas. He previously served as Vice President for Special Investigations for a leading corporate investigations firm and was the Taiwan Country Manager for a business advisory firm that focused on East Asia.

Ian McCaleb brings a wealth of specialized media analysis and advisory services to bear in his new role at LEVICK. As the owner and sole operator of Ian McCaleb LLC, he forged cooperative agreements with top global media firms to provide media analysis and consultation services to a range of private sector clients. As the sole senior media consultant to the United States Government during the height of the Wikileaks disclosure crisis, he accurately predicted how major international media outlets would present certain stories based on unauthorized disclosures of proprietary and classified information.  He is a former senior spokesman for the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice, and was a recognized breaking news and investigative journalist, having produced exclusive stories on a range of issues and topics, from the contested 2000 presidential election, to the 9/11 attacks, the "Amerithrax" anthrax mailing investigations, terror and national security investigations, the Virginia Tech shootings, the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina recovery.  His career as a journalist included senior reporting and editorial positions at the Fox News Channel, CNN, Congressional Quarterly, the McClatchy Newspapers and United Press International.

ABOUT LEVICK

LEVICK orchestrates integrated communications campaigns in the highest-profile global matters for companies, financial institutions, and countries. The firm has received top honors in crisis, litigation, public affairs communications, as well as financial communications and online campaigns.  LEVICK counselors have seen clients through the most intensely scrutinized events of our time, including the Gulf oil spill, the Wall Street financial crisis, the largest data breach in U.S. history, the Catholic Church crisis, hundreds of food and consumer product recalls, and litigation involving brand name personalities and companies. Learn more of how LEVICK integrates disciplines to communicate trust more broadly www.levick.com.

SOURCE LEVICK