mlphoto2Mervyn Levin, Founding Director of Levering Ltd, provides the DHI with funding, policy and business expertise for exploiting our skills and knowledge in industry and business sectors that have a digital and data science dimension.

Levering is a consultancy for the digital and creative industries, established in 2003 and co-located in Asia and the UK, working closely with leading organisations across industry, the financial sector, governments and the research community.

Mervyn Levin brings a unique perspective to Levering’s clients through his extensive experience, international network and solid understanding of cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary approaches. He has a successful record of achievement in strategic co-ordination and facilitation of applications at the research-commercial interface. This has given him deep insight into strategy and innovation across converging industries, knowledge of the associated current and emerging technologies, and experience in developing trade, investment and partnerships.

Mervyn has rich and up-to-date first hand knowledge of the UK, Continental Europe and all Asia’s major economies, including China, Korea, Japan, India, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore. Mervyn has the powerful capability to make effective and profitable linkages between policy, commercial, financial and research dimensions for £ multi-million value projects supported by his strong organisational, networking and project management skills.

A key area of Levering’s focus is helping to enhance the competitiveness of countries, regions and cities by working closely with public sector intervention programmes, providing expertise, advisory and monitoring services across the creative industries.

The golden thread running through Levering’s successes for its clients is innovation, leading to achievement of the following outcomes:

  • Triggering partnerships and relationships in the private and public sectors and making them work.
  • Pinpointing and providing access to key decision makers across Asia and Europe.
  • Horizon scanning of critical emerging technologies and new value chains on a global basis.
  • Sharing best practices.
  • Identifying and accessing funding streams.
  • Influencing government, corporate and university strategy and policy leading to high-quality decisions being made and subsequently being implemented successfully.
  • Raising skills levels through intensive knowledge transfer.
  • Gathering and capitalising on market intelligence.
  • Developing and implementing market entry and outsourcing strategies.
  • Embedding the disciplines required to drive technically complex, commercially successful multi-partner projects.

Mervyn is a frequent presenter at major government events, business conferences and universities in the UK and Asia on Information Communications Technologies and Creative Industries. This includes UK and China Governments, OECD, European Commission and UN Agencies. He is also a TEDx presenter on 3D Printing and the Creative Industries.

Clients include: European Commission, UK Government Technology Strategy Board, FTSE 100 companies, City-based Institutional Investors, United Nations in Asia, World City Links, British Council, Ministry of Commerce China, Big Eye Consulting, Exploit Media, Serious Games Institute, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

In the research domain, Mervyn carries out the following roles:

  • Overseeing Collaborative R&D projects at the research-commercial interface with leading academics from top UK universities, including Imperial College, University College London, Bath, Sheffield, York, Loughborough, Goldsmiths, Warwick, Cambridge;
  • Authoring Publications in Peer-Reviewed Journals;
  • Editorial Review Board Member for Emerald Publishing;
  • Member, Programme Committee for Artificial Intelligence and Games Symposium, University of York.

From 2002 to 2007, Mervyn was Head of Digital Content Policy at the UK Government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). This involved leading UK Government policy for digital content industries, shaping the national agenda for the Creative Industries in close conjunction with industry at a time of substantial growth and disruptive change in the broadband and media landscape. He has also represented the UK Government in a number of national and international fora on the ICT and content industries, including at EU summits, the OECD and in China.

Mervyn spent 22 years at Thomson Reuters, world leaders in news, financial information and business intelligence, between 1980 and 2002 where his last role was e-Service Director, based in Geneva, managing the creation of a global customer service organisation for e-business. His previous positions spanned a variety of international management roles in country management, product management for the Company’s premium product line, regional marketing and training, based in the UK, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Switzerland.

Mervyn has a First Class B.A. Honours from the University of Cape Town and has attended executive education courses at INSEAD and University of Michigan Business Schools. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.