Lexington Park, Md. (MAY 15, 2025) - This month, AVIAN’s subsidiary, Level Up, LLC, expanded its leadership team to include a new Director of Growth.
Level Up selected Mike Laggini, a four-year employee-owner, to the role where he will drive the intersection of business development, strategic recruiting, and company expansion — aligning every effort with Level Up’s long-term vision for support to the intelligence community.
“We are excited to welcome Mike into his new role at Level Up,” said Garrett Melich, President of Level Up. “He will play a key role in accelerating our growth and strengthening our already exceptional support to the Intelligence Community and DoD, while allowing us to maintain the close relationship we have with our employees. Mike brings with him a hands-on understanding of our customers’ operational and technical needs and a deep understanding of their culture, all of which is needed in the dynamic environment in which we work.”
Laggini is not your conventional corporate director. With a rare combination of operational grit, strategic foresight, and a people-first mindset, he brings a fresh perspective to the Level Up leadership team.
“This amazing new opportunity is a pivotal new direction for Level Up that will set the foundation for a stronger and more focused team for years to come,” Laggini said. “I am honored to step into the role to help drive growth and future business endeavors, while simultaneously providing upward mobility for our employees. As a firm believer that an organization is only as good as it’s totality, I look forward to working with our new on-site Directors, our AVIAN counterparts, and all of our employees who exemplify dedication to mission, to take Level Up further than it has ever been before.”
Over the past four years at Level Up, Laggini has been instrumental in shaping company culture and trajectory — from launching a successful internal mentorship program to leading the explosive growth of one of Level Up’s contracts, which catapulted the company into tremendous growth.
In his new role, Laggini’s focus will include building deep relationships across the intelligence community, guiding full-cycle recruitment for high-clearance technical roles, leading teaming and capture strategies, and supporting the President and BD leads to increase competitive edge.
Laggini holds an MBA from George Washington University and a BA from American Military University, and his journey prior to Level Up includes pivotal moments of transformation — like turning a toxic work environment into a platform for personal and professional growth.
His time in the U.S. Navy instilled in him a lasting commitment to compassionate leadership, inspired by a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant who showed him what true leadership looks like.
Outside the office, you’ll find Laggini training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, soaking up time with his kids, or diving into episodes of the Business Wars podcast. He’s also full of surprises — like growing up in the Caribbean and training with a developing Olympic pistol shooting team.
About Level Up, LLC
Level Up, LLC is a Virginia-based small business focusing on cyber security, all-source research and analysis, big data analytics, and information technology consulting. All Level Up employees maintain industry-leading and relevant hands-on experience and over 150 years of combined practical application.
Our technical capabilities and domain expertise directly support customers from the mission centers to the forward-deployed operations officer. Our trademark dependability, reliability, and innovation are applauded by the customers we support.
Level Up operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of AVIAN branded as Level Up, powered by AVIAN.
For more information, visit www.levelupllc.com
About AVIAN, LLC
AVIAN (*ae-v-yin*) is an employee-owned government services small business headquartered in Lexington Park, Maryland.
We are resourceful, responsive, and reachable for our clients in program, financial, and logistics management; engineering and systems engineering; test and evaluation of manned and unmanned aerial, surface, and sub-surface systems; workforce development and training; and communication strategy and graphic design.
Our philosophy is simple. We care for our employees. Our employees care for our customers. Our customers care to return. Simply put, we take care of each other.
For more information, visit www.avian.com
