CEO of texas-based info warfare contractor resigned and sued former employer for legal fees. Timothy J. Riesen resigned from his role as CEO of Madison Springfield on new year's eve and was cut off from his legal support in a separate dispute with British spy firm, alleges a new lawsuit. Apr 18, 2026 Timothy J. Riesen, a recent CEO of the Austin-based information warfare contractor Madison Springfield Inc. (MSI), sued his former company this month due to an end to financial support from MSI in an ongoing, heated legal dispute with the British founders of a UAE-based covert intelligence collection firm, International Advisory Services (IAS). The previous partnership between MSI and IAS - which centered around IAS conducting "dodgy" information collection work in the Middle East on behalf of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) without disclosing an American hand - was revealed by this publication to have involved nearly a decade of covert intelligence contracts within Iranian cities, including monitoring of the now-contested Strait of Hormuz in response to a March 2021 trade agreement between Iran and China. (The U.S. federal judge handling the dispute between Riesen and IAS in February retroactively sealed a table of codenames of contracts with USSOCOM in response to exclusive reporting from this publication.) Legal filings further revealed that in July 2022, shortly after MSI's then-secretive acquisition by the San Francisco-based gig-work information collection company Premise Data, the company had discussed the price for their "researchers" to escalate beyond observation, referring to a "break stuff price." Timothy J. Riesen's April 7 complaint against MSI in the Western District of Texas 8.82MB ∙ PDF file This month's suit from Riesen against MSI, filed in the Western District of Texas on April 6, is at least the ninth legal action involving the downfall of Premise Data, ranging from the company's 2019 lawsuit against the alleged whistleblower Alex Pompe to the company's bankruptcy declaration in January and myriad offshoot lawsuits. (The law firm which represented Premise in its suit against Pompe, Grellas Shah, in October filed suit against Premise in Santa Clara County for lack of payment from the case.) IAS founders Alexis Everington and Richard White - both former employees of the now-defunct British information operations firm SCL Group - sued Riesen in October 2023 in the Middle District of Florida after concluding that the $1 million which they each received from the MSI sale to Premise in May 2022 was insufficient. Former MSI president Ingrid de la Fuente soon after sued MSI through a now-withdrawn, but still sealed, False Claims Act suit in the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging that the MSI's roughly $4.5 million BEOWULF intelligence collection contract in Iran had improperly billed USSOCOM for the company's subcontracts with IAS. Former Premise Data CEO Maury Blackman - who was fired from the company in late 2023 after this publication revealed his sealed arrest for felony domestic violence - unsuccessfully sued the author for $25 million after Premise's then-general counsel, Jeffrey C. Tung, hired the private investigation firm Whitestar Group to attempt to unmask this publication's sources. (Former U.S. Army Ranger Regiment commander Christopher S. Vanek was likewise let go from his government contracting role at Premise shortly after Blackman's firing, resulting in him suing Premise for alleged fraud, age discrimination, and unpaid wages in May of last year, similarly revealing codenames of USSOCOM contracts in his lawsuit.) Riesen claims in his newly filed suit against MSI - following his sealed lawsuit against Premise Data in Delaware last year - that, "MSI's corporate parent, Premise Data Corporation ("Premise"), through its General Counsel (Jeff Tung) and CEO (Maury Blackman), approved Premise's payment to MSI and MSI's payment to Riesen of the attorneys' fees and costs associated with the dispute with Everington and White." The April 7th filing from Riesen further states that, following Riesen's December 31, 2025 resignation from MSI, "Culmen assumed control of MSI's operations," adding that, "MSI now refuses to continue advancement payments to Riesen." The lawsuit between Riesen and his former British partners is scheduled to go to trial in June, and Riesen argued in his complaint that the end to MSI's support for his legal defense means that he "stands to owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees in short order, or else, Riesen will be deprived of a defense on the eve of trial for an action brought against him as an officer and director of MSI." All-Source Intelligence looks forward to covering the trial in person in Tampa. 25 Likes ∙

Alfredo will lead product teams focused on advanced analytics underpinning its retail measurement capabilities in Traditional TradeNEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Premise, a leading provider of traditional trade insights and data solutions, announces the appointment of Alfredo Troncoso as Principal Lead of Retail Measurement. In this role, Troncoso will lead product and data science teams focused on the connection between retail execution and drivers of share performance.Alfredo brings a wealth of industry expertise to the Premise team. His distinguished career spans over 28 years at Nielsen and Kantar, where he led teams that enabled various customers in market measurement, marketing effectiveness, pricing, segmentation, and innovations in measurement.Alfredo's extensive experience includes the design and scaled production of advanced analytic frameworks and data science capabilities for a wide collection of the world's top consumer brands in every continent. His global expertise covers Market Measurement, Marketing Effectiveness & ROI, Strategic Pricing & Revenue Management, Shopper Insights, Segmentation, and Assortment & Shelf Management, among other disciplines that underpin the unique value proposition brought to market by Premise's capability."We are thrilled to welcome Alfredo to the team," said Matt McNabb, Chairman and CEO of Premise. "His extensive experience and deep understanding of shopper and retail analytics will be instrumental in driving our continued growth