Victory CEO Eyal Ravid Hires Crisis Consultant Amid PR Storm
Victory supermarket chain CEO Eyal Ravid hired crisis consultant Julian Levinson to reinforce his PR team following the "Hamakor" investigative recordings controversy.
CEO and owner of the Victory supermarket chain, Eyal Ravid, currently at the center of a public storm following the release of the "Hamakor" investigative recordings, is bolstering his PR apparatus. News has learned that Ravid has hired crisis management and communications consultant Julian Levinson to serve as an additional accompanying communication body alongside Ravid's existing spokesperson array, led by in-house PR strategist Gal Weisberg.
Crisis Management Strategy
Levinson, known for handling high-profile media crises, was hired directly by Ravid and operates in parallel with Weisberg, who has accompanied Ravid and the chain for nearly a decade. According to industry sources, Weisberg will continue to lead the overall strategy, while Levinson will focus on operational execution—media maneuvers, issuing press releases, and managing Ravid's defense line vis-a-vis reporters.
Levinson's name recently made headlines following an investigation by Kan 11, which revealed that he secretly recorded strategic consultant Ronen Tzur. The recording led to the exposure of "The Hive" which, according to the investigation, managed billionaire Alex Sklar's smear campaign against private investigator Zvika Naveh. It was further revealed that Levinson forwarded a price quote of about one million shekels to Sklar's associates to manage the array against Naveh.
As part of his media toolkit, Levinson also operates the independent news site "Post News"—a platform that may serve as an additional lever for disseminating messages and creating media volume surrounding Ravid's image crisis.
Background and Public Impact
The affair surrounding Victory erupted after Channel 13's investigative program exposed recordings in which Ravid and Weisberg were heard plotting how to build Ravid an image of a "fighter against the cost of living," while behind the scenes, conversations allegedly took place presenting a more complex reality, including backing price hikes by suppliers.
Now, with the hiring of Levinson as an additional PR body alongside the existing apparatus, Ravid will attempt to cope with the affair's ramifications, minimize the damage to the company's stock, and restore consumer trust in the chain.
