2010 Instructional Team

The instructional team for the August 25-27, 2010 Public Relations Leadership Forum includes:

Harold Burson, Founder and Chairman of Burson-Marsteller, was called the "most influential public relations figure" of the 20th century by PR Week. Harold's public relations career began as a one-person consultancy in 1946 and the organization grew into Burson-Marsteller which became the world's largest public relations firm in 1983. For more than six decades, Harold has served as counselor to corporate CEOs, government leaders and heads of public sector institutions. Nobody has done more to sponsor and support programs, industry bodies, universities and charities to improve the public relations profession. Harold will lead a highly-interactive program session that will examine the challenges and opportunities public relations faces today.

Roger Bolton, a Page Society Past President and the former Senior Vice President - Communications at Aetna will speak about the importance of values in corporate communication. This presentation will focus on the noted Aetna case which shows the effective results a large company can realize when it incorporates values into corporate communications. Roger left Aetna in 2007 and currently heads RBC, his own consulting firm, where he works closely with APCO Worldwide and Gagen MacDonald, specializing in strategic issues, including reputation, brand and culture change.

Tom Kowaleski, Vice President - Corporate Communications, BMW of North America will lead a presentation and discussion examining how they have changed the outlook of communications at BMW in the last two years at a company that enjoys the reputation of being one of the world's most admired automobile companies with one of the world's most valuable brands. Prior to his appointment at BMW, Tom was Vice President in charge of Global Communications at General Motors.

Tom Martin, the Executive-in-Residence of the Department of Communication at the College of Charleston, will discuss the increasing importance of ethics in public relations and corporate communications. He is the former chief communications officer at both ITT Corporation and FedEx Corporation, a Past President of the Page Society and a long-time member of the IPR Board of Trustees. At ITT Industries, Tom was a member of the company's Executive Council and was responsible for worldwide brand and reputation management, public relations, employee communications, government affairs, corporate advertising and community relations. Tom spent 26 years at FedEx assuming communications posts of increasing responsibility prior to becoming the chief communications officer.

Dallas Lawrence, Managing Director of Proof Digital Communications, and one of the nation's emerging experts on digital media and other new technologies will lead a program session exploring how these new media are impacting communications related to crises, reputation management and litigation.

Aedhmar Hynes who as the Chief Executive Officer of Text 100 has grown this firm's position as a leader in global communications and as a thought partner for nearly 300 global clients, a staff of over 500 and 30 offices throughout North America, Asia Pacific and Europe. Aedhmar has been with Text 100 for sixteen years and throughout her career has worked exclusively with technology companies consulting on behalf of both large corporations and small start up companies. She is a board member of the Council of Public Relations Firms and the Arthur W. Page Society and also serves on the Foundation Board of her Alma Mater, the national University of Ireland - Galway.

Valerie DiMaria, a noted public relations leader in both the corporate and agency worlds. Currently Director, Client Strategy and Growth for Peppercom, she previously was Senior Vice President and Group Marketing and Communications Director for Willis Group Holdings, the global insurance broker. Prior to that, Valerie was Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs for Motorola and Vice President - Corporate Public Relations and Advertising for GE Capital. On the agency side she was Vice Chairman of the GCI Group when it first became part of the top ten global list of PR firms. She also was a Senior Vice President at Porter Novelli.

Steve Dishart is Executive Director of the Blue Ocean Institute, a conservation organization dedicated to protecting the oceans. He also is President of New York-based Communication and Crisis Management Consultants where he directs and executes strategic communications initiatives and offers expert media and crisis communications management and solutions to clients. Steve spent ten years as Managing Director - Communications and Human Resources with Zurich-based Swiss Re. Prior to that he was Vice President and Director of Corporate Communication for the Mellon Corporation.

There will be a program session focusing on career development that will feature George Jamison, a Consultant at Spencer Stuart; Richard Marshall, a Senior Client Partner with Korn/Ferry International, and Lisa Ryan, a Senior Vice President and Managing Director with Heyman Associates.

And several members of the Boards of Trustees of the Arthur W. Page Society, the Institute for Public Relations and the Council of Public Relations Firms will join us for networking activities during this three-day event.

Inquiries

Dr. Don Wright, Director, Institute for Public Relations Forums
Professor of Public Relations, Boston University
+1 617-306-4006 - DonaldKWright@aol.com

Michelle Hinson, Director of Development, Institute for Public Relations
+1 352 392-0280 - MHinson@jou.ufl.edu

Jenn Moyer, Foundation Operations Manager, Institute for Public Relations
+1 352 392-0280 - JMoyer@jou.ufl.edu