Kenneth I. Levinson

Founder and Principal

Formerly on the staff of US Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV, Ken Levinson is a trusted partner with Democratic and Republican Members of Congress and staff in the House and Senate, in Leadership and on key Committees, including the Senate Finance, Banking, Commerce, and Energy Committees, and the House Ways & Means, Commerce, Financial Services and Armed Services Committees.

Ken has achieved success on a wide array of issues at the federal and international levels with a strategic, relational, and goal-oriented approach on behalf of clients in technology, telecommunications, health care, financial services, retail, energy, and consumer products sectors. Ken has also partnered with NGOs and other third parties to advance client objectives on a broad array of issues, ranging from intellectual property to labor, the environment, and global development.

In addition to his work with KLC Strategies, Ken is the Executive Director of the Washington International Trade Association, Washington's largest non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to providing a neutral forum in the US capital for the open and robust discussion of international trade policy and economic issues. WITA has over 1,800 members, and more than 130 corporate sponsors and group memberships. Ken is also a founding partner in the Advocom Group, and Senior Advisor to Fontheim International, the GlobalWorks Foundation, and Rasmussen Public Affairs.

Before opening KLC Strategies, Ken served as Senior Director for Global Government Affairs for AstraZeneca, the world's fifth largest pharmaceutical company. Ken created and managed the company's global government affairs and tax function in Washington, DC, and was the company's point person with the Washington-based global business and trade communities (Congress and the Administration). He played a leading role in crafting industry-wide strategies for bilateral and multilateral issues including key intellectual property, market access and tax issues.

Prior to joining AstraZeneca, Ken served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Washington, DC public affairs firm of Fontheim Partners, PC. At Fontheim Partners, Ken managed a diverse portfolio of clients, including representation of firms such as Microsoft, AIG, Limited Brands, Gap, Inc., and Chevron, as well as trade associations, such as the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association, the Business Roundtable, and the Chocolate Manufacturers Association.

Ken joined Fontheim Partners after spending six years on the staff of U.S. Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, and a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee. As Senator Rockefeller's chief legislative policy assistant for international trade, tax, foreign policy, and national security, Ken managed all aspects of the Senator's agenda dealing with tax and trade issues, as well as advising the Senator on foreign policy and defense issues.

Over the years, Ken has worked closely with a number of institutions, and participated in various forums, including with the Democratic Leadership Council, Progressive Policy Institute, New Democrat Network, Business Council for Global Development, Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, Brookings Institution, Friedrich Naumann Foundation, and the Tax Foundation. Currently, Ken is a board member of the Washington International Trade Association, and a Senior Advisor to the Trade, Aid and Security Coalition.

Ken also worked for U.S. Senator Harris Wofford, and the law firm of Richards & O'Neill in New York City, and as an elevator operator in the garment district in New York. He received his Master's Degree from New York University after doing his undergraduate work at the University of Massachusetts, in Amherst. Ken also spent a year studying at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.