Maslanky Luntz + Partners

How CEOs, companies, and entire industries communicate – whether during crises, in advertising and public relations campaigns, or with investors, Congress or the American people – often means the difference between success and failure.  Clients from PepsiCo to eBay to Microsoft to Starbucks turn to Michael to understand the public mood, challenge conventional wisdom and transform not just what they say to key audiences – but how they say it.

Michael shares with clients his in-depth understanding of hot-button issues in banking and financial services, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, corporate social responsibility and non-profits, technology and consumer products, and litigation and politics.  Over the years, he has helped Fortune 500 companies position and differentiate their brands and products during good times, and protect their reputations during crisis.

Michael’s new book, The Language of Trust: Selling Ideas in a World of Skeptics was published on May 4, 2010.  The book reviews the communication challenges that companies and industries face today and offers proven tools for building trust and credibility with consumers, regulators and the general public.

Michael’s strategic analysis builds on insights from his unique combination of expertise: battle-tested communications experience combined with a deep understanding of public opinion.  He has conducted hundreds of research projects in over 20 countries using his firm’s trademarked polling and focus group methodology, lauded by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, “60 Minutes,” “Nightline” and PBS’s “Frontline,” among others.  Michael is one of corporate America’s leading communications and research strategists.

Prior to coming to ml + p, Michael founded MarketResearch.com, a leading market intelligence company where he served as president and remains on the Board.  Previously, he led a distinguished career as a corporate attorney with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

She has led projects that have won the Ogilvy Award, Webby Award, Financial Communications Society Portfolio Gold Award, and the Web Marketing Association Award. Before joining ml + p she was a Director of Marketing at MetLife and Vice President of Marketing for TD Waterhouse.

In 2008 Lee was nominated to be a National Committee on US-China Relations Young Leader. She has completed both her Series 6 and 63 licenses. A graduate of Furman University, Lee majored in History and Sociology. She also studied theater and architecture at the University of London. She lives in New York City and is working on her first book about communications.

A National Emmy award-winning television producer, Larry spent more than two decades as a television executive and news producer for CNBC, MSNBC, CNN and PBS prior to joining maslansky luntz + partners. Larry’s journalism career included a stint as Washington Bureau Chief for CNBC, directing coverage of Capitol Hill, the White House, and the regulatory agencies.

As a business journalist, Larry has extensive experience covering topics ranging from corporate strategy, international trade, health care and the financial markets. While serving as part of the management team at CNBC, Larry led the redesign of the network’s financial news programming, including the creation of popular programs such as “Squawk Box” and “Power Lunch.”  Larry was also executive producer of PBS’s acclaimed “Wall Street Week with FORTUNE” and senior producer of MSNBC’s “The News with Brian Williams.”

In 2004, Larry was appointed to the advisory board of INVESTOR EDUCATION, an organization designed to equip investors with the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed investment decisions. The non-profit entity was part of the “global settlement” between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and 10 of the nation’s top investment firms. Larry and his wife Cindy live in Maryland with their children Brooke, Nikki and Jason.

His work has spanned a wide range of issues and industries, including consumer products, technology, pharmaceuticals and travel and tourism as well as public affairs and public policy advocacy.

Previously, Keith spent more than 15 years as a public relations executive, communication advisor, media spokesperson and political operative.  This included five years as vice president and head of the communication division of New York City’s official marketing agency, NYC & Company.  There he played a key role in formulating crisis communication strategy following 9/11, oversaw the city’s television, print and radio ad campaigns and directed all digital marketing and research activities. 

Keith also served as vice president of marketing and communication for the French economic development agency Invest in France, where he directed a national (U.S. market) marketing and communication campaign for the French Government.

Like many of his ml+p colleagues, Keith began his career in politics, working on presidential and senatorial campaigns.

Keith is a graduate of Oberlin College with a degree in government.  He also studied international relations at the School for International Training and at the University of Nairobi, Kenya.  A native of New York City, he has traveled widely and lived in both Paris and East Africa.

Mike has written or assisted on speeches for numerous US Senators and Congressmen as well as foreign heads of state.  On the corporate side of the business, he has worked with industries ranging from technology and fast food, to financial services, credit cards, and alternative energy.  He has conducted surveys and Instant Response Dial Sessions throughout the United States, well as in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and China.

Mike’s primary interests are in language development and speechwriting.  Before ml + p, Mike was an analyst at the Corporate Executive Board, a best practice research and executive education firm in Washington, DC. A cum laude graduate of Vanderbilt University, he majored in political science and communication studies.  Mike is a native of Paris, Tennessee, which is home of the World’s Biggest Fish Fry.  Currently a resident of New York City, Mike recently spent a year living in the Middle East where he did freelance writing for a former Prime Minister and learned how to spot a good hummus.

Before joining ml + p,  she was a Director of Human Resources for a hospitality company in Nashville, Tennessee.  Jennifer holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and a Bachelor’s in Media Business from Vanderbilt University, and is a proud fan of their perennially disappointing football team.

He has conducted and analyzed countless instant response sessions, traditional focus groups, word labs, strategy sessions and surveys.  His countless projects range from helping Hulu.com develop launch messaging and strategy to travelling across the deserts and mountains of Arizona in a van to train field office personnel on a new messaging hierarchy.

Prior to ml+p, Thayer worked as a speech writer in the United States House of Representatives.  In 2010, he also spent time working in public relations as an account director at Articulate Communications.  Thayer graduated from Trinity College with an honors degree in philosophy.  He also earned a Masters in Corporate Communications from NYU, where he currently teaches as an adjunct professor.

Since joining ml + p in 2005, Justin has completed projects and built messaging strategies for numerous clients across a variety of industries.  He has conducted Instant Response sessions and quantitative surveys across the U.S. and in international markets such as China, India, Brazil, and Europe.

Justin has worked with Fortune 500 companies such as AT&T, FedEx, Pfizer, Anheuser-Busch, and Lowe’s to build better language and communication strategies, and with non-profits such as Conservation International and AARP on critical language and messaging efforts.  He has also led the firm’s work with professional sports franchises, including projects with the Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and other teams.

Prior to joining ml + p, Justin was with the Corporate Executive Board, a leading best practice research and executive education firm in Washington, DC, where he worked with leading global companies.

Justin is a graduate of the College of Charleston with a degree in political science.  A native of Indianapolis, Justin lives in Alexandria, VA with his wife, Kate, and their golden retriever, Cooper.

Before joining the team, he worked as a writer and researcher at a New York-based non-profit advocacy organization.  Previous to that, he worked in the communications department of Gen. Wesley Clark’s presidential campaign and as a press aide for a production company in New York City.  He has also worked as a freelance writer and editor.

Patrick holds a fine arts degree in writing from Emerson College in Boston, MA.  He lives in New York and bikes to work when the weather is good.  And he’s going to buy a helmet very soon.

Born and raised in Belleville, Illinois, Jenn left the Midwest after completing her dual B.A. in English and Speech Communications from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in May 2007.

Clint holds a BS in Communication Studies and Political Science from Northwestern University, and a Masters in International Relations and Religion from Boston University.  He lives in Arlington, VA with his wife Jana and their hyper-active cat Kaylee.

Chris has an M.F.A in fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a degree in English from the University of Notre Dame. He’s lived in Washington state, Ohio, Texas, Indiana, and Iowa.  He finds frequent moving is great for making new friends, but not so great for keeping them. He currently lives in Alexandria, Virginia, and is sure that the Irish (the football team, not the nation) are about to turn the corner. Seriously. Just you wait.

A South Carolina native, she moved “up North” to attend Vassar College and never looked back.

Among the skills that Margaret contributes to the team, she is known for her ability to get a bulletproof case of weird-looking tech onto a plane without a photo ID.

Previously, she worked in Georgetown University’s Writing Center and served as Marketing Director for an on-campus start-up.  Based in the NYC office after beginning in DC, she is proud to add to the firm’s curious abundance of redheads.

Katie currently resides in New Jersey (no wisecracks, please) but would gladly relive her glory days spent feasting on bread and cheese in France.

Katie-Coral graduated Summa Cum Laude from Emerson College with a B.S. in Organizational
and Political Communication.

An avid international traveler and advocate, Katie-Coral filmed a feature length documentary on post-war Sierra Leone in 2009 with her husband Joe, and is the U.S. Country Director for Conscience International, a human rights organization based in The Gambia.

A sunny native of Ventura, California, she took the quick drive from San Francisco to New York and traded her longboard for a MetroCard.  When not at the office, she can be found drinking imported baobab juice in Harlem, getting her yoga on at Jivamukti, or building her language skills at a German conversation meet-up.

Prior to joining ml+p, Bentley spent seven years working as a multimedia producer for a wide variety of clients.

He earned a Bachelors Degree in Film and Video Production from the School of Visual Arts in New York. In his spare time, he regularly manipulates the channels of creative energies, utilizing cutting edge technological innovations to create dazzling displays of videographical insights that he promptly posts to YouTube.

Along with southern charm, Sofia brings strong media experience to our firm.  Sofia is a recipient of two Emmy Awards for her role as producer of two Public Service Announcements. As well as talent behind the camera, Sofia is known around the office for her cameo in front of the camera as a boxer with a mean right hook.