Edelman’s Global Chief Operating Officer Matthew Harrington Elected as Chair
New York – (October 6, 2016) – The PR Council (PRC), the industry’s trade association, announced today the election of its new officers and directors, going into effect Dec. 1, 2016.
The Chair, elected to a one-to-two-year term is Matthew J. Harrington, Global Chief Operating Officer of Edelman. A 26-year Edelman veteran, he is a specialist in corporate positioning and reputation management. His expertise includes crisis communications, merger and acquisition activity and IPOs. Harrington is an advisory member of the Marketing 50 and serves on the boards of the World Food Program USA, Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Advisory Board and the Classic Stage Company.
Joining Harrington as executive committee officers are Carrie Jones (JPA Health Communications) as secretary and Todd Hansen (O’Malley Hansen Communications) as treasurer.
The PRC also announced the election of its new board directors, all CEOs/Principals of their firms:
- Gail Heimann (Weber Shandwick)
- Barri Rafferty (Ketchum)
- Dale Bornstein (MBooth)
- Jon Silvan (Global Strategy Group)
- Anne Green (CooperKatz)
Each new board member will serve a three-year term.
Matt Neale (President, Golin and incoming Co-CEO+Vision) will also be joining as the new Golin representative, taking the place of Fred Cook, who will be moving into his new role as Chairman of Golin and director of the USC Center for Public Relations at the Annenberg School.
Continuing directors are: Don Baer (Burson-Marsteller); Virginia Devlin (Current); Carrie Jones (JPA Health Communications); Daryl McCullough (Citizen Relations); Heidi Hovland (Devries); Todd Hansen (O’Malley Hansen Communications); Ron Sachs (Sachs Media Group); Brad Macafee (Porter Novelli); Sandra Fathi (Affect); and Tonya Veasey (OCG PR).
“As a previous Board Member of the PR Council, I have tremendous respect for, and admire, the work this association does to better our industry,” said Matthew Harrington. “I’m honored to be re-joining the Board as Chairman, and I look forward to our continued efforts to expand the power of public relations and redefine the discipline for the modern age.”
“Our industry will benefit greatly by having a leader like Matt, from a firm that is redefining modern day public relations, take on the Chairman role in 2017,” said Renee Wilson, President, PR Council. “He will help us move forward as we strategize how to help the agency industry evolve and our agency members continue to grow as strategic business partners.”
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The PR Council is the trade association of America’s leading communications and public relations firms. Its membership represents the premier global, mid-sized, regional and specialty firms across every discipline and practice area. The Council’s mission is to advocate for and advance the business of communications and public relations firms by building the market and the value of firms as strategic business partners. For more information about the Council, visit prcouncil.net.
Media Contact:
Sara Ghazaii
Vice President, Communications
PR Council
973.248.7005 / sghazaii@prcouncil.net