GAINESVILLE, Fla.—Patrick Ford, Burson-Marsteller’s vice chairman and chief client officer, will receive the 2016 Institute for Public Relations (IPR) Alexander Hamilton Medal, awarded for lifetime contribution to the public relations profession.
Ford will receive the Institute’s highest honor and speak at the IPR 55th Distinguished Lecture and Awards Dinner at the Roosevelt Hotel on Nov. 30, 2016.
Ford became Burson-Marsteller’s vice chair and chief client officer in 2012, following six years of driving extraordinary growth in North America as Burson’s regional president and CEO. He also served as chair of the firm’s Asia-Pacific region for nearly three years (2012-2015).
His specializations include corporate reputation management, senior executive communications, media strategy, and issues and crisis management. For 27 years, Ford’s clients have included world-class companies in industries as diverse as automotive, energy, express delivery services, financial services, food and beverage, management consulting, technology, and telecommunications, to government clients in the U.S. and Asia.
Ford serves on the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Public Relations and the Board of Directors of The LAGRANT Foundation. He also is a member of the Advisory Board of the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications at Hampton University. In 2014, he received the prestigious Milestones in Mentoring Legacy Award from the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations at the University of Alabama.
“Pat Ford is a true champion of the profession,” said Oscar Suris, IPR Chair and EVP of Corporate Communications, Wells Fargo & Company. “For more than 25 years, he has advocated the use of research to strengthen our profession. Throughout his career, he has mentored and helped many others grow, making a true impact on the field.”
The Alexander Hamilton Medal is given in recognition of the carefully planned strategies Hamilton used to gain the acceptance and the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. Each year the Institute for Public Relations presents its highest award to someone who has made major contributions to the practice of public relations, including effective use of research.
“Pat Ford is the consummate public relations professional,” said Donald A. Baer, Worldwide Chair and CEO, Burson-Marsteller. “His commitment to delivering extraordinary results for clients is only exceeded by his dedication to building the next generation of talent, both within.
Burson-Marsteller and across the industry. His generosity to our profession is unmatched, and I am proud to call Pat a colleague and a friend. We are so pleased that he has been honored with this very distinguished award.”
Celebrating its 60th anniversary, IPR hosts the Distinguished Lecture & Awards Dinner annually, a tradition and an honor that dates back to 1961 to help raise money for research that matters to the profession.
Tickets for the 55th Distinguished Lecture and Awards Dinner are available for individual purchase at $500. Tables of 10 can be purchased for $5,000 and premium tables of 10 are available for purchase at $10,000. The price includes a networking cocktail reception, the awards ceremony and dinner, and the Lecture. Geoff Colvin, Senior Editor-at-Large of Fortune Magazine and author of several award-winning, bestselling books, will deliver the Distinguished Lecture.
About Institute for Public Relations
The Institute for Public Relations is an independent, nonprofit research foundation dedicated to the science beneath the art of public relations™. IPR focuses on research that matters to the profession, providing timely insights and applied intelligence that professionals can put to immediate use. All research is available free at instituteforpr.org and provides the basis for the organization’s professional conferences and events.
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Contact:
Jenn Moyer
jenn@instituteforpr.org
352-392-0280
