The role of the senior public relations professional within major corporations — and other institutions that face intense public and media scrutiny — has grown more complex and challenging in recent years. The rise of social media has empowered stakeholders and spawned new threats to corporate reputation, and smart CEOs have come to realize that a trusted communications advisor is essential to their success.
GEOGRAPHY & BACKGROUND
The world’s 100 most influential corporate communicators is a diverse group.Compared to last year, there are 29 new entrants in this year’s compilation.
Unsurprisingly, given the size and stature of the US public relations industry, exactly half of them are based in North America, with a further 14 located in the UK. The remainder are spread across almost 20 countries around the world, including Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Singapore, South Africa and Saudi Arabia, as well as all of the major markets in Western Europe.
They represent a wide range of industries - technology, automotive and aviation, digital media, FMCG, healthcare, mining and manufacturing, retailing, food and beverage - as well as public sector organizations such as the White House and EU, and non-profits like the Wikimedia Foundation and Gates Foundation.
Our own analysis of the Influence 100, meanwhile, reveals that 29 percent of them have at least some experience in the political or government realm, compared to just 18 percent who previously worked in media. Just under a third (31 percent) have experience on the agency side of the public relations business.
METHODOLOGY
The 100 senior corporate communicators profiled in this book are senior counselors to some of the most powerful CEOs in the world. In compiling this list, the Holmes Report relied on external nominations along with its own editorial research, basing all decisions on discrete set of criteria. Accordingly communicators were selected based on:
- Their status within their organizations (as well as the status of those organizations)
- The respect in which they are held by their own senior management and their peers, including the seniority of their position
- Their influence over the public relations agencies with which they work
- Their thought leadership within—and occasionally beyond—the public relations industry
- The budget under their control
- Their reputation for innovation
- Only one person could be selected from a particular company.
