WASHINGTON, DC—Clinton White House veteran Lanny Davis, whose Purple Nation Solutions was acquired by strategic communications firm Levick two years ago, is launching a new law firm, Davis Goldberg & Galper, and a new PR firm, Trident DMG, which will focus on crisis and strategic communications, litigation communications, advocacy, and reputation management. It will be led by Eleanor McManus, previously a senior producer for CNN at Larry King Live who joined Davis in 2010 to support his crisis communications practice.

LOS ANGELES—PMK•BNC has launched a new multicultural practice, Voces, and appointed Willy Villarreal as vice president to lead the new unit. Voces will have bi-coastal reach across PMK•BNC’s Los Angeles and New York City offices, with core competencies including brand marketing and communications, content marketing, influencer marketing, Hispanic entertainment marketing, corporate communications, diversity and inclusion, research and cultural insights. Prior to PMK•BNC, Villarreal was vice president of consumer and western region multicultural lead at Edelman.

LOS ANGELES—S+L Communications, a boutique agency specializing fashion and action sports PR on the west coast, has been acquired by Santy, a full-service, integrated marketing communications firm based in Scottsdale, Az. S+L—led by partners Karen Schneider and Staci Levine—becomes S+L PR, a Santy Company, and the acquisition will allow both agencies to expand into new verticals and offer clients a full portfolio of advertising and public relations services. Santy specializes in brand building across digital, mobile, TV, video and social media platforms. 

NEW YORK—Beau Dietl & Associates, a security and investigation firm, has partnered with JConnelly, a communications and marketing agency, to launch PI|PR, a crisis management program designed to protect companies and individuals facing threats to their businesses, reputations, and bottom lines. PI|PR integrates professional investigations with crisis communications services in order to reduce risks and ensure that businesses are well positioned in the media and online. It also works closely with top law firms to plan, prepare, and execute crisis communications strategy for its clients.

LONDON—Mike Daniels, co-founder of Report International, a pioneer in media analysis research, has launched The Measurement Practice, which aims to help businesses, organisations and agencies bridge the gap between the promise and delivery of communications measurement. The service is aimed at senior communications and marketing directors who need to use data better to get more insight, to guide planning, and to improve business performance, and to help agencies win business that requires clear evaluation measures built in from the outset. Other associates include Colin Wheeler, who led the EMEA insights and analytics team at WE Communications and Liam Kelly, formerly of Delahaye, Report International, CARMA and Cision.

NEW YORK—Gould+Partners, which specializes in PR and ad agency mergers and acquisitions, has released “Doing It The Right Way: 13 Crucial Steps For A Successful PR Agency Merger or Acquisition," by Rick Gould, managing partner. The how-to book provides In-depth guidance for how PR agency owners can boost their profitability, enhance their valuations and execute a successful sale. The book will be available via Amazon.com. All profits from this edition will be donated to children’s charities.

AUSTIN—TrendKite, a public relations technology company, has hired John De Oliveira, Russ Somers and Jennifer Cantu on the heels of raising $10.7 million of funding in October 2015. De Oliveira joins TrendKite as vice president of product, having held product management positions at Sprinklr, Dachis Group and Dun & Bradstreet. Somers joins as VP of marketing having led teams at Invodo, SonarDesign, Dun & Bradstreet, and Dell. Cantu, VP of people, led talent and culture for nine years at Spiceworks.