Asha Choksi

Penn Schoen Berland (PSB), a member of Young & Rubicam Brands and of the WPP Group, is a global research-based consultancy that specializes in messaging and communications strategy for blue-chip political, corporate and entertainment clients. Founded in 1975, they bring together lessons from the campaign trail and the boardroom to create innovative strategies to handle complex situations. Their powerful hybrid model combines both political and corporate research, recognizing that the strategies used to effect change in one area can be innovative and effective in the other. They call this Winning Knowledge. In the political arena, PSB has thirty years of experience winning competitive elections. They’ve won nearly three quarters of the races they’ve run, and have worked as pollster and strategic advisor to candidates including President Bill Clinton, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Their innovative and successful political work led Time Magazine to dub them “Masters of the Message.” In the corporate sector, PSB is a strategic research provider to more than 30 of the Fortune 100 companies, including many of the leading consumer and business brands. They help these organizations implement proactive, research-driven and integrated communications efforts like the ones that win political campaigns. In the entertainment world, PSB is a leading provider of cover testing research to leading magazine publishers, motion picture research for major Hollywood studios, and video game research to top game publishers. Their proprietary visual testing capabilities help clients assess and fundamentally enhance the power of their execution. Their operations include over 200 consultants and a sophisticated in-house market research infrastructure with the capability to conduct work in over 90 countries. Their offices in Washington, D.C., New York, , London, Seattle, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dubai, Beijing, Austin and Denver are supported by an in-house fielding capability and are fully equipped to provide the complete creative solutions their clients need.

Harvard University engages in the provision of teaching and research. It has twelve degree-granting Schools in addition to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, offering a global education. The university was founded in 1636 and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.

Change to Win operates as a labor union. The private company is based in Washington.

DNC Service Corp. operates a political party. It is an organization which raises fund for the Democratic Party which has been a part of the U.S. political landscape. The company plans the presidential nominating convention, promotes candidates from the local to the national level and sets the party platform. DNC Service was founded in 1848 and is located in Washington, DC.

American Federation of Labor Congress of Industrial Org operates labor unions. The main purpose of the AFL-CIO is to bring fairness and dignity to the workplace and secure social and economic equity. The company was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Washington, DC.

British Broadcasting Corp. provides broadcasting services. It offers news, sport, weather reports, DVD shopping, videos, travel, capital, culture, music, nature, food and local news. The company was founded by John Charles Walsham Reith in 1922 and is headquartered in White City, the United Kingdom.

The Lek/Alcar Consulting Group, Inc. provides business strategy consulting services. It offers strategy, finance, marketing and sales, operations, and transaction services including business unit strategy, brand management, pricing, alliances and joint ventures, product development, corporate transformation, and operations design. It serves the defense, energy, health, building and construction, aerospace, media, retail, and telecommunications industries. The company was founded by Andrew Kutter in 1983 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

GMMB, Inc. is an advertising agency that offers web design services. The private company is based in Washington.

Daily News is a private company that publishes a daily newspaper. The company is based in Longview, WA.

AARP, Inc. (District of Columbia) provides general, legal information and products and facilities to aged citizens. It offers discounts, insurance, financial, health products, travel benefits to its members. The company was founded by Ethel Percy Andrus in 1958 and is headquartered in Washington, DC.

Service Employees International Union is an organization with 2 million members who believe in the dignity and worth of workers and the services they provide. The non-profit company is based in Washington and has subsidiaries in the United States. The American company is dedicated to improving the lives of workers and their families and creating a more just and humane society.

ESPN, Inc. engages in the provision of multinational and multimedia sports entertainment services. It offers cable sports broadcasting services with seven domestic networks including its ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPN HD, and ESPNEWS. The company was founded by William Rasmussen in September 7, 1979 and is headquartered in Bristol, CT.

Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. engages in the sale, distribution and market of motor vehicle parts and accessories. It vehicles include SUVs trucks, cars, crossovers, alternative fuel vehicles, hybrids, hybrid cars, hybrid SUVs, concept vehicles, TRD Pro series, and nightshade series. The company was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Torrance, CA.

The Hertz Corp. engages in the provision of vehicle rental and leasing services. It operates under the Americas RAC and International RAC segments. The Americas RAC segment includes rental of vehicles and selling value-added services in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The International RAC segment is involved in locations other than those included in the Americas. The company was founded by Walter L. Jacobs in 1918 and is headquartered in Estero, FL.

Paramount Corp. distributes and manufactures eye protection and safety spectacles, faceshields, cover goggles and welding helmets. The company was incorporated in November 24, 1978 and is headquartered in New Bedford, MA.

The American Marketing Association operates professional associations for marketers. The company offers services to marketing professionals including best practices and research studies, job resources, publications and directories. Its publications include flagship semi-monthly magazine Marketing News, as well as journal of marketing, journal of public policy and marketing and a variety of newsletters. The company was founded in 1931 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

Goldman Sachs International (GSI) is the Great Britain-based, wholly-owned brokerage subsidiary of Goldman Sachs Group UK Ltd., ultimately held by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) in the US. The firm was founded in 1988 and formerly known as Trushelfco Ltd. Headquartered in London, GSI provides prime brokerage, securities lending, futures services and financing services for a range of clients such as corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net worth individuals.