Every organization is susceptible to crisis. In today’s world, where news is delivered at an astonishing speed and can be accessed from anywhere, an organization’s reactions and opinions are viewed under a microscope. Circumstances that may initially be deemed as minor can snowball into a major crisis that can have a significant impact on a company’s reputation. Anticipating and navigating through these events can be the determining factors in maintaining brand equity, market position and, ultimately, keeping your customers.

Join our panel discussion as we share best practices for corporate crisis communication. Experts from Racepoint Group, Eaton Vance and Ithaca College will dissect situations that call for crisis management and provide key objectives for a successful crisis communications plan. They will also discuss current examples of organizations in the news and how they handled (or mishandled) crises.

Expert Panelists:

PETER PRODROMOU

CHIEF GLOBAL ACCOUNTS OFFICER, RACEPOINT GROUP

Peter is responsible for leading Racepoint Group’s global engagements, best practices and global account services. He has 25 years of experience in public affairs and public relations. His client experience includes AT&T, IBM, Cook Medical, Johnson & Johnson, Red Hat, Sybase, Fujitsu, Lexmark International, ARM, the governments of Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Togo, and two foreign presidential campaigns. Peter has worked on crisis and issues management with some of the largest brands in banking and finance, energy and technology. His crisis experience includes development of crisis mitigation strategies, crisis containment and reputation management.

ROBYN TICE

VICE PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR OF MEDIA RELATIONS, EATON VANCE

Robyn has over 20 years of professional experience working in financial services communications and media relations. She has worked for several Boston-based companies including Bank of America, State Street Research, Fidelity Investments and Pioneer Investments. Robyn also works in the graduate program at Regis College lecturing students on communication and serves on the Organizational and Professional Communication Advisory Board. She has a B.S. from Cornell University.

CORY YOUNG

ASSOC. PROFESSOR & CHAIR GRADUATE PROGRAM, DEPT. OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION, ITHACA COLLEGE

Cory specializes graduate and undergraduate level studies focused on organizational and corporate communication issues including: crisis communication, corporate social responsibility, organizational culture and diversity, and social media. In terms of research interests, Cory's primary areas of expertise are: crisis communication and the implications of social media for public relations practitioners. Cory Lynn Young has her B.A.C., M.A. (Bowling Green State University), M.Soc.Sci. (University of Birmingham [England]), and PH.D. (Bowling Green State University.)

Moderator:

RICHARD SILTON

PRESIDENT & CEO, VIDEOLINK, INC.

Richard has spent 25 years in CEO and COO roles at companies at various stages in their lifecycle, from startups to mature companies. He brings a breadth of experience from executive operations, finance, technology, marketing, to human resources. In every case, Rich has increased revenues and improved operating performance, reduced and controlled both operating and financial risk, resulting in significant value creation. Rich earned his BA at Middlebury College and his MBA at Harvard Business School.

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