Benenson Promotes Two to Principal

US-based research and consulting firm Benenson Strategy Group (BSG) has promoted Mitch Markel to Principal in its New York office and Amy Levin to Principal in its Los Angeles office.

The firm is known for running groundbreaking research and polling programs for President Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns, and boasts eleven Prime Ministers and Presidents worldwide as current or past clients - it also works for private sector and advocacy clients.

Levin will continue to oversee the company's California presence, serving political, corporate and institutional clients. She joined BSG in 2002 and is the first Principal to have begun her career at the firm as an Analyst. Her contribution includes opening the Los Angeles office and leading the polling for San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee's winning campaign, conducting polls for the Los Angeles Times/USC, and advising on strategy for clients including Intel and Cosmopolitan magazine. She left the company between 2005 and 2009 to work as David Axelrod's chief of staff at AKPD Message and Media before moving to ad agency GMMB. She returned to BSG as a Vice President in 2009.

She holds a Master's degree in public policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from Harvard University.

CEO Joel Benenson comments: 'We are proud to announce that Amy has been named a Principal at our firm. She has demonstrated clear leadership, messaging expertise and a deep understanding of advanced research and complex consumer attitudes, all of which have enabled her to grow our Los Angeles office.'

Markel, who will continue to develop marketing and communications strategies, primarily for the firm's corporate clients, has hands-on research experience in more than 80 countries around the world. He joined the company in 2008 and has worked on the development of marketing and communications strategies for a range of consumer and b2b firms. He is a two-time winner - in 2002 and 2006 - of the David Ogilvy Research Award, and holds a Bachelor's degree in Marketing and an Associate's degree in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Benenson comments: 'Mitch has served as a cornerstone of our corporate practice, demonstrating exceptional leadership in his work to help our clients solve some of their toughest challenges, grow marquee corporate clients and develop his team.'

The firm also has offices in Washington, D.C. and Denver, and is online at www.bsgco.com .