Circle of Fellows

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Circle of Fellows episodes

July 27, 2016Circle of Fellows #11: When CEOs take sides on social issues
Three IABC Fellows — Jim Lukaszewski, Ned Lundquist, and George McGrath — join host (and Fellow) Shel Holtz to discuss the “social CEO” and the trend of CEOs and their companies taking positions on social issues that could polarize their employees, customers, and other stakeholders. What role do communicators play?
About the panel:
James E. Lukaszewski advises, coaches, and counsels the men and women who run very large corporations and organizations through extraordinary problems and critical high-profile circumstances. The bulk of his practice is in the U.S., Canada, and South America although he has clients from many parts of the world. He is an expert in managing and reducing contention, counteracting tough, touchy, sensitive corporate communications and institutional issues. He counsels leaders facing serious internal and external problems involving: activist counteraction; community conflict and grassroots campaigns; corporate relations failures; reputational threats; employee relationship building; ethics/integrity/ compliance; litigation visibility; Web-based attacks; and threats to corporate survival. He is a prolific author (twelve books, hundreds of articles and monographs), lecturer (corporate, college and university), trainer, counselor, and public speaker. He is an editorial board member of most of Public Relation’s important Journals and serial Publications. His book, “Why Should the Boss Listen to You?” was published by Jossey-Bass in 2008.
Edward “Ned” Lundquist, ABC, IABC Fellow, is a retired U.S. Navy captain with 33 years of professional public affairs and strategic communications experience. He is a principal science writer at MCR Federal in McLean, Virginia, supporting government clients; and has his own company, Echo Bridge LLC, which provides outreach and advocacy support to commercial clients. He served on active duty for 24 years in the U.S. Navy as a surface warfare officer and public affairs specialist. Captain Lundquist was a Pentagon spokesman with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, Director of the Fleet Home Town News Center, and director of public affairs and corporate communications for the Navy Exchange Service Command. His last tour of duty was commanding the 450 men and women of the Naval Media Center. He is an accredited business communicator and award-winning communicator who served as president of IABC/Hampton Roads and IABC/Washington, director of U.S. district 3 and chair of the International Accreditation Council. He was named an IABC Fellow in 2016. Captain Lundquist is a member of the executive committee of the Surface Navy Association and chair of the SNA communications committee. He writes for numerous naval, maritime and defense publications and chairs and presents at communications, naval and maritime security conferences around the world.
George McGrath is founder and managing principal of McGrath Business Communications, which helps clients build winning corporate reputations, promote their products and services, and advance their views on key issues. George brings more than 25 years in PR and public affairs to his firm. Over the course of his career, he has held senior management positions at leading strategic communications and integrated marketing agencies including Hill and Knowlton, Carl Byoir & Associates, and Brouillard Communications.
Related links:
CEOs are getting more political, but consumers aren’t buying it (Los Angeles Times)
Corporations and Politics: Shunning the Middle Road to Go Left or Right (Wharton School of Business)
The Digital CEO: How to Leverage Digital Media to Demonstrate Engaged Leadership (Richard Edelman)
The post Circle of Fellows #11: When CEOs take sides on social issues appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
1 hr
July 27, 2016 Circle of Fellows #11: When CEOs take sides on social issues
Three IABC Fellows — Jim Lukaszewski, Ned Lundquist, and George McGrath — join host (and Fellow) Shel Holtz to discuss the “social CEO” and the trend of CEOs and their companies taking positions on social issues that could polarize their employees, customers, and other stakeholders. What role do communicators play?
About the panel:
James E. Lukaszewski advises, coaches, and counsels the men and women who run very large corporations and organizations through extraordinary problems and critical high-profile circumstances. The bulk of his practice is in the U.S., Canada, and South America although he has clients from many parts of the world. He is an expert in managing and reducing contention, counteracting tough, touchy, sensitive corporate communications and institutional issues. He counsels leaders facing serious internal and external problems involving: activist counteraction; community conflict and grassroots campaigns; corporate relations failures; reputational threats; employee relationship building; ethics/integrity/ compliance; litigation visibility; Web-based attacks; and threats to corporate survival. He is a prolific author (twelve books, hundreds of articles and monographs), lecturer (corporate, college and university), trainer, counselor, and public speaker. He is an editorial board member of most of Public Relation’s important Journals and serial Publications. His book, “Why Should the Boss Listen to You?” was published by Jossey-Bass in 2008.
Edward “Ned” Lundquist, ABC, IABC Fellow, is a retired U.S. Navy captain with 33 years of professional public affairs and strategic communications experience. He is a principal science writer at MCR Federal in McLean, Virginia, supporting government clients; and has his own company, Echo Bridge LLC, which provides outreach and advocacy support to commercial clients. He served on active duty for 24 years in the U.S. Navy as a surface warfare officer and public affairs specialist. Captain Lundquist was a Pentagon spokesman with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, Director of the Fleet Home Town News Center, and director of public affairs and corporate communications for the Navy Exchange Service Command. His last tour of duty was commanding the 450 men and women of the Naval Media Center. He is an accredited business communicator and award-winning communicator who served as president of IABC/Hampton Roads and IABC/Washington, director of U.S. district 3 and chair of the International Accreditation Council. He was named an IABC Fellow in 2016. Captain Lundquist is a member of the executive committee of the Surface Navy Association and chair of the SNA communications committee. He writes for numerous naval, maritime and defense publications and chairs and presents at communications, naval and maritime security conferences around the world.
George McGrath is founder and managing principal of McGrath Business Communications, which helps clients build winning corporate reputations, promote their products and services, and advance their views on key issues. George brings more than 25 years in PR and public affairs to his firm. Over the course of his career, he has held senior management positions at leading strategic communications and integrated marketing agencies including Hill and Knowlton, Carl Byoir & Associates, and Brouillard Communications.
Related links:

* CEOs are getting more political, but consumers aren’t buying it (Los Angeles Times)
* Corporations and Politics: Shunning the Middle Road to Go Left or Right (Wharton School of Business)
*
1 hr
June 29, 2016 Circle of Fellows #10: Career Building for Communicators
Four IABC Fellows — including two from the 2016 class of Fellows — engaged in a wide-ranging discussion on the habits top communication leaders practice to stay relevant, manage their careers, and become trusted and valued advisers to other leaders.
About the Panel
Priya Bates is a senior communication executive who provides strategic internal communication counsel in order to ensure leaders, managers, and employees understand the strategy, believe in the vision, act in accordance to the values, and contribute to business results. She is president of Inner Strength Communications in Toronto, and previously served as senior director of Internal Communications at Loblaw Companies Limited.
Alice Brink is an internationally recognized communications consultant. Her firm, A Brink & Co., works with businesses and non-profits to clarify their messages and communicate them in ways that change people’s minds. Her clients have included Shell Oil Company, Sysco Foods, and Noble Energy. Prior to launching A Brink & Co. in Houston in 2004, Alice honed her craft both in corporate settings (including The Coca-Cola Company, Conoco, and First Interstate Bank) and in one of Texas’ largest public relations firms, where she led the agency’s energy and financial practices. Alice has been active in IABC for more than 30 years, including serving as chapter president, district director, and Gold Quill chair. She is the vice chair of the IABC Academy.
Sheri Rosen is vice president of Employee Communication at Frost Bank in San Antonio, Texas. Before assuming that role, Sheri spent 14 years as president of Rosen Communication Group. For 10 years before that, she was assistant vice president of Employee Communications for USAA, the financial services company. She is accredited by IABC.
Mark Schumann is the founder and principal of re-communicate. Most recently, he was VP of marketing and communications for Western Connecticut Health Network. He served as IABC’s chair in 2009-2010 and is currently IABC’s liaison to the Global Alliance. He was a managing principal and global communication practice leader at Towers Perrin for 26 years.
The post Circle of Fellows #10: Career Building for Communicators appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
1 hr
June 29, 2016 Circle of Fellows #10: Career Building for Communicators

Four IABC Fellows — including two from the 2016 class of Fellows — engaged in a wide-ranging discussion on the habits top communication leaders practice to stay relevant, manage their careers, and become trusted and valued advisers to other leaders.
About the Panel
Priya Bates is a senior communication executive who provides strategic internal communication counsel in order to ensure leaders, managers, and employees understand the strategy, believe in the vision, act in accordance to the values, and contribute to business results. She is president of Inner Strength Communications in Toronto, and previously served as senior director of Internal Communications at Loblaw Companies Limited.
Alice Brink is an internationally recognized communications consultant. Her firm, A Brink & Co., works with businesses and non-profits to clarify their messages and communicate them in ways that change people’s minds. Her clients have included Shell Oil Company, Sysco Foods, and Noble Energy. Prior to launching A Brink & Co. in Houston in 2004, Alice honed her craft both in corporate settings (including The Coca-Cola Company, Conoco, and First Interstate Bank) and in one of Texas’ largest public relations firms, where she led the agency’s energy and financial practices. Alice has been active in IABC for more than 30 years, including serving as chapter president, district director, and Gold Quill chair. She is the vice chair of the IABC Academy.
Sheri Rosen is vice president of Employee Communication at Frost Bank in San Antonio, Texas. Before assuming that role, Sheri spent 14 years as president of Rosen Communication Group. For 10 years before that, she was assistant vice president of Employee Communications for USAA, the financial services company. She is accredited by IABC.
Mark Schumann is the founder and principal of re-communicate. Most recently, he was VP of marketing and communications for Western Connecticut Health Network. He served as IABC’s chair in 2009-2010 and is currently IABC’s liaison to the Global Alliance. He was a managing principal and global communication practice leader at Towers Perrin for 26 years.

1 hr
May 26, 2016Circle of Fellows #9: Creativity and Innovation
Communicators tend to be inclined toward creativity. We are writers, videographers, and artists, after all. But a corporation can sometimes suck the creativity out of a person. How can communicators bring creativity and innovation to their work in an organization? What approaches work? And how can they convince senior leadership that it produces genuine results when we break out of the mundane reporting we see from so many companies? In this episode of Circle of Fellows, host Shel Holtz joins four IABC Fellows for a deep dive into creativity and innovation in the world of organizational communications.
About Our Panelists
Pixie Emslie — Now retired from corporate communications, Pixie is a novelist. Her latest book, “Cry of the Rocks,” has been optioned for production as a feature-length motion picture. The book is a thriller that features kidnapping, a murder, and an international conspiracy. Previously, Pixie had a career in organizational communication that included media relations responsibilities. See Pixie’s LinkedIn profile.
John Gerstner — John is a strategic communications leader whose work has spanned 30 years and 30 countries on five continents. He has career experience as an internal communications and intranet manager, consultant, marketer, website developer, video producer, book author, magazine editor, photo-journalist, conference producer, radio announcer and public speaker. He is CEO and founder of Communitelligence, an online learning community for corporate communicators. Previously he managed diverse communication assignments at John Deere. These included launching John Deere’s internal communication program and intranet, serving as the company’s first manager of environmental and safety communications and authoring an award-winning coffee-table history book, Genuine Value: The John Deere Journey. See John’s LinkedIn profile.
Leticia Narvaez, ABC — Leticia Narvaez is CEO and Founding Partner of Narvaez Group, a consulting firm focused on strategic communication and communication training based in Mexico City. Lety brings 30 years of experience to her assignments. Her background includes top-level management positions at multinational and national corporations including Sanofi, Merck, Sharp & Dohme, American Express, and Ford Motor Company, among others. See Lety’s LinkedIn profile.
Mark Schumann, ABC — Mark is the founder and principal of re-communicate. Most recently, he was VP of marketing and communications for Western Connecticut Health Network. He served as IABC’s chair in 2009-2010 and is currently IABC’s liaison to the Global Alliance. He was a managing principal and global communication practice leader at Towers Perrin for 26 years. See Mark’s LinkedIn profile.
The post Circle of Fellows #9: Creativity and Innovation appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
1 hr 4 min
May 26, 2016 Circle of Fellows #9: Creativity and Innovation

Communicators tend to be inclined toward creativity. We are writers, videographers, and artists, after all. But a corporation can sometimes suck the creativity out of a person. How can communicators bring creativity and innovation to their work in an organization? What approaches work? And how can they convince senior leadership that it produces genuine results when we break out of the mundane reporting we see from so many companies? In this episode of Circle of Fellows, host Shel Holtz joins four IABC Fellows for a deep dive into creativity and innovation in the world of organizational communications.
About Our Panelists

* Pixie Emslie — Now retired from corporate communications, Pixie is a novelist. Her latest book, “Cry of the Rocks,” has been optioned for production as a feature-length motion picture. The book is a thriller that features kidnapping, a murder, and an international conspiracy. Previously, Pixie had a career in organizational communication that included media relations responsibilities. See Pixie’s LinkedIn profile.
* John Gerstner — John is a strategic communications leader whose work has spanned 30 years and 30 countries on five continents. He has career experience as an internal communications and intranet manager, consultant, marketer, website developer, video producer, book author, magazine editor, photo-journalist, conference producer, radio announcer and public speaker. He is CEO and founder of Communitelligence, an online learning community for corporate communicators. Previously he managed diverse communication assignments at John Deere. These included launching John Deere’s internal communication program and intranet, serving as the company’s first manager of environmental and safety communications and authoring an award-winning coffee-table history book, Genuine Value: The John Deere Journey. See John’s LinkedIn profile.
* Leticia Narvaez, ABC — Leticia Narvaez is CEO and Founding Partner of Narvaez Group, a consulting firm focused on strategic communication and communication training based in Mexico City. Lety brings 30 years of experience to her assignments. Her background includes top-level management positions at multinational and national corporations including Sanofi, Merck, Sharp & Dohme, American Express, and Ford Motor Company, among others. See Lety’s LinkedIn profile.
* Mark Schumann, ABC — Mark is the founder and principal of re-communicate. Most recently, he was VP of marketing and communications for Western Connecticut Health Network. He served as IABC’s chair in 2009-2010 and is currently IABC’s liaison to the Global Alliance. He was a managing principal and global communication practice leader at Towers Perrin for 26 years. See Mark’s LinkedIn profile.

1 hr 4 min
April 28, 2016 Circle of Fellows #8: The Customer Experience
It’s a rare company that isn’t working to create a great customer experience (CX), which is “the product of an interaction between an organization and a customer over the duration of their relationship” (according to Wikipedia). In this episode of Circle of Fellows, IABC Fellows George McGrath, Jim Shaffer, and Brad Whitworth join moderator (and Fellow) Shel Holtz for a discussion about the various ways organizational communicators can support their companies’ CX efforts.
About Today’s Panel
George McGrath — Founder and managing principal of McGrath Business Communications, which helps clients build winning corporate reputations, promote their products and services, and advance their views on key issues. George brings more than 25 years in PR and public affairs to his firm. Over the course of his career, he has held senior management positions at leading strategic communications and integrated marketing agencies including Hill and Knowlton, Carl Byoir & Associates, and Brouillard Communications. See George’s LinkedIn profile.
Jim Shaffer — Jim is a business advisor, leadership coach, author, speaker. As leader of the Jim Shaffer Group, he helps organizations accelerate results through superior strategy execution. The Jim Shaffer Group creates hard business results by translating the business strategy to the people who need to implement it, aligning systems, processes, and culture to make the gains sustainable. See Jim’s LinkedIn profile.
Brad Whitworth, ABC — Brad is a senior communication and marketing manager at Cisco Systems as well as a communication coach at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Brad joined Cisco in 2007, before which he ran enterprise communication for the California State Auto Association and internal communication for PeopleSoft. He spent several years in various communication roles at Hewlett-Packard, and was IABC’s 1989-1990 chair. See Brad’s LinkedIn profile.
The post Circle of Fellows #8: The Customer Experience appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
1 hr
April 28, 2016 Circle of Fellows #8: The Customer Experience
It’s a rare company that isn’t working to create a great customer experience (CX), which is “the product of an interaction between an organization and a customer over the duration of their relationship” (according to Wikipedia). In this episode of Circle of Fellows, IABC Fellows George McGrath, Jim Shaffer, and Brad Whitworth join moderator (and Fellow) Shel Holtz for a discussion about the various ways organizational communicators can support their companies’ CX efforts.

About Today’s Panel
George McGrath — Founder and managing principal of McGrath Business Communications, which helps clients build winning corporate reputations, promote their products and services, and advance their views on key issues. George brings more than 25 years in PR and public affairs to his firm. Over the course of his career, he has held senior management positions at leading strategic communications and integrated marketing agencies including Hill and Knowlton, Carl Byoir & Associates, and Brouillard Communications. See George’s LinkedIn profile.
Jim Shaffer — Jim is a business advisor, leadership coach, author, speaker. As leader of the Jim Shaffer Group, he helps organizations accelerate results through superior strategy execution. The Jim Shaffer Group creates hard business results by translating the business strategy to the people who need to implement it, aligning systems, processes, and culture to make the gains sustainable. See Jim’s LinkedIn profile.
Brad Whitworth, ABC — Brad is a senior communication and marketing manager at Cisco Systems as well as a communication coach at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Brad joined Cisco in 2007, before which he ran enterprise communication for the California State Auto Association and internal communication for PeopleSoft. He spent several years in various communication roles at Hewlett-Packard, and was IABC’s 1989-1990 chair. See Brad’s LinkedIn profile.
1 hr
March 22, 2016Circle of Fellows #7: Communications and CSR
What is the role of public relations and other organizational communication functions in a company’s or client’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts? In this episode of Circle of Fellows, IABC Fellows John Deveney, Tamara Gills, Amanda Hamilton-Attwell, and Mary Ann McCauley join host Shel Holtz to tackle the issues, including…
How communicators can help organizations embrace appropriate CSR activities
How employees play an important role in CSR
Whether CSR should be confined to sustainability efforts or expanded to other ways to make the world a better place, including social justice issues
How to demonstrate the value of CSR efforts that produce no traditional return on investment
The benefits of baking CSR into products or brands (as Unilever does with its Real Beauty theme)
How best to tell the company’s CSR stories
Links referenced in today’s episode include the following:
Sea World’s decision, after six years, to end its killer whale breeding program
The 61% increase in just four years among S&P 500 Index companies that produce sustainability reports
General Mills’ campaign to draw attention to declining bee populations
The 6th Annual Social Media Sustainability Index
About today’s panel:
John Deveney — In 1996, while on the fast track to a partnership in a growing PR agency, John opted to strike out on his own and form Deveney, a process and a practice that embraces the soundest principles, the newest media, and the most innovative technologies. Based in New Orleans, Deveney is particularly strong in the areas of crisis, healthcare, tourism, and hospitality. (After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, John led the only on-site communication operation and media center for both the City of New Orleans and the Louisiana Office of Tourism.) See John’s LinkedIn profile.
Tamara Gillis — Tamara Gillis, Ed.D., ABC, straddles the worlds of academia and communication practice. As a tenured professor at Elizabethtown College, she is preparing tomorrow’s corporate communicators. As an author and communications consultant, she continues to influence the practice of communications and change management. Dr. Gillis’s research interests have been recognized on the regional, national and international level by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, International Communication Association and IABC. Gillis was the first educator to serve as chairman of the IABC Research Foundation. See Tamara’s LinkedIn Profile
Dr. Amanda Hamilton-Attwell is accredited by both IABC and PRSA. She is managing Director of Business DNA, based on South Africa, which provides strategic research and consulting, including communication audits, customer service and other focused research and training in communication skills. Her career has also included a 15-year stint as a research manager for the National Productivity Institute. See Amanda’s LinkedIn Profile
Mary Ann McCauley — Mary Ann is committed to ensuring people communicate more effectively about their organizations’ products and services. With a specialty practice in crisis management, Mary Ann addresses sensitive issues with timeliness, dignity, and minimal backlash. “Managing communication during a crisis requires common sense folded into a structured process,” she says. See Mary Ann’s LinkedIn profile.
The post Circle of Fellows #7: Communications and CSR appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.
1 hr 2 min
March 22, 2016 Circle of Fellows #7: Communications and CSR
What is the role of public relations and other organizational communication functions in a company’s or client’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts? In this episode of Circle of Fellows, IABC Fellows John Deveney, Tamara Gills, Amanda Hamilton-Attwell, and Mary Ann McCauley join host Shel Holtz to tackle the issues, including…

* How communicators can help organizations embrace appropriate CSR activities
* How employees play an important role in CSR
* Whether CSR should be confined to sustainability efforts or expanded to other ways to make the world a better place, including social justice issues
* How to demonstrate the value of CSR efforts that produce no traditional return on investment
* The benefits of baking CSR into products or brands (as Unilever does with its Real Beauty theme)
* How best to tell the company’s CSR stories

Links referenced in today’s episode include the following:

* Sea World’s decision, after six years, to end its killer whale breeding program
* The 61% increase in just four years among S&P 500 Index companies that produce sustainability reports
* General Mills’ campaign to draw attention to declining bee populations
* The 6th Annual Social Media Sustainability Index

About today’s panel:

John Deveney — In 1996, while on the fast track to a partnership in a growing PR agency, John opted to strike out on his own and form Deveney, a process and a practice that embraces the soundest principles, the newest media, and the most innovative technologies. Based in New Orleans, Deveney is particularly strong in the areas of crisis, healthcare, tourism, and hospitality. (After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, John led the only on-site communication operation and media center for both the City of New Orleans and the Louisiana Office of Tourism.) See John’s LinkedIn profile.
Tamara Gillis — Tamara Gillis, Ed.D., ABC, straddles the worlds of academia and communication practice. As a tenured professor at Elizabethtown College, she is preparing tomorrow’s corporate communicators. As an author and communications consultant, she continues to influence the practice of communications and change management. Dr. Gillis’s research interests have been recognized on the regional, national and international level by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, International Communication Association and IABC. Gillis was the first educator to serve as chairman of the IABC Research Foundation. See Tamara’s LinkedIn Profile
Dr. Amanda Hamilton-Attwell is accredited by both IABC and PRSA. She is managing Director of Business DNA, based on South Africa, which provides strategic research and consulting, including communication audits, customer service and other focused research and training in communication skills. Her career has also included a 15-year stint as a research manager for the National Productivity Institute. See Amanda’s LinkedIn Profile
Mary Ann McCauley — Mary Ann is committed to ensuring people communicate more effectively about their organizations’ products and services.
1 hr 2 min