Thierry Nicolet

Schneider Electric

Senior VP Global Press Relations

Thierry Nicolet has been leading the Business Press Relations activities of Schneider Electric since 2008, covering 50 countries. He interfaces with a network of local Marketing Communications Managers, PR Managers and over 40 PR Agencies, and made the company's world wide impressions triple in the past 4 years. Prior to his current position, Mr. Nicolet lead the Press Relations expansion world wide for more than 5 years at APC (until its acquisition by Schneider Electric) by setting up and analysing key performance indicators, engineering robust global processes and by providing guidelines, assistance and coaching to Marketing managers and their selected PR Agencies. Mr. Nicolet has over 23 years of Marketing Communications experience after graduating in Business Administration and International Trade from European Business School Paris. Fluent in French and English and conversational in German, he entered APC as an Sales Engineer and rapidly expressed an interest for Marketing Communication to become Marcom Manager for France, UK, The Nordics, Middle East and Africa. He then got involved with product marketing after which he also headed the Direct Marketing, Email Marketing and Customer Retention activity for the whole region to finally take the role of PR Director for EMEA. This wide scope of responsibilities has given him an extensive proficiency in Marcom demand drivers which he now uses to support Schneider Electric’s strategies, messages and solutions introductions.

Liz Young

Sony Music Entertainment

EVP Corporate Communications

Liz is the Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications for Sony Music Entertainment, and responsible for corporate giving and major events. She previously worked as Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications for Bertelsmann, Inc, and represented the Bertelsmann Foundation in the United States. As Vice- President of Mazda North America, Liz was the founder of the Mazda Foundation USA. She was also a registered lobbyist for US Japan trade.

Heather Mitchell

Unilever Hair Care

Global Head Of PR And Social Media

Heather has nearly two decades of PR and social media experience, currently leading earned media strategies for Unilever’s global hair care portfolio, including TRESemme, Dove Hair, Toni&Guy and Clear, among others. She previously lead PR and social media for Unilever’s personal care brands in the US, including award-winning and sales-generating work on AXE and Suave. Some of her achievements at Unilever include revolutionizing how the company measures PR by creating a proprietary qualitative measurement system and creating one of the industry’s first and most successful community management strategies in the social media space. Prior to Unilever she held PR roles at Gatorade and Jim Beam Brands, and began her career at PR agencies working on P&G, Mattel, the 1996 Olympics and many other consumer brands. Heather was named the 2012 PR Person of the Year by PR News for her innovative and industry-leading work at Unilever.

Patrick Jephson

Former Chief Of Staff To Princess Diana

International Reputation Expert, New York Times Bestselling Author & Consultant, Netflix's "The Crown"

Patrick is a consultant, journalist, broadcaster and New York Times and London Sunday Times bestselling author, based in Washington DC.  His byline has appeared in every major UK newspaper and international titles as varied as TIME magazine, People, The Spectator, Paris Match, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the National Catholic Reporter.  He is a published authority on corporate and personal branding, addressing conferences worldwide as well as events at the US State Department, the American University and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. 

He also writes, presents and advises on factual and drama programs, appearing on every major US network as well as British and international platforms.  His two decades of news and current affairs assignments have included on-screen conversations with figures such as David Frost, David Dimbleby, Barbara Walters and Larry King. 

He is founding partner in JephsonBeaman, a boutique communications consultancy specializing in international high-profile, sensitive and UHNW services.  With more than twenty-five years’ experience in the government, luxury and family office sectors, Patrick’s portfolio has included Ferrari, Harrods, Beretta and Hawker Beechcraft as well as national agencies and NGOs.  He has also worked on reputation and legacy briefs with European, Middle Eastern and Asian families, including royalty. 

Patrick owes much of his practical communications experience to Princess Diana, who chose him to be her equerry and only private secretary/chief of staff.  He served the Princess for eight years (1988-96), responsible for every aspect of her public life, worldwide humanitarian initiatives, and private organization.  Under relentless media scrutiny, his tenure covered the period of Princess Diana’s greatest popularity as well as the constitutional controversy of her separation from Prince Charles.  In recognition of his service, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II appointed him a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order.

Patrick was born and raised in Ireland and holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Cambridge University.  As an officer in the British Royal Navy he served all over the world before being selected for royal duty.  In March 2015 he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Mary Jo Jacobi

Former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, Former Assistant US Commerce Secretary for President George H.W. Bush, British Civil Service Commissioner

Former Senior Executive, HSBC, Lehman Brothers, Royal Dutch Shell And BP America

Mary Jo Jacobi Jephson is a renowned expert in reputation, brand and crisis management drawn from her extensive experience at senior levels of the corporate, public and voluntary sectors on both sides of the Atlantic. Most recently, Mary Jo was Executive Vice President of BP America during its response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Previously she led reputation management for Royal Dutch Shell, Lehman Brothers, HSBC Holdings and Drexel Burnham Lambert. She also devised and executed the award-winning global brand strategies for Lehman and HSBC, including the first-ever use of airport jetties for brand projection and thought leadership. She is a non-executive director of the Weir Group PLC, Mulvaney Capital Management and Panafsat and a member of the advisory board of Fink Africa. She is also a Visiting Fellow of Oxford University'ss Centre for Corporate Reputation. Mary Jo was the first woman to chair the board of the Ladies Professional Golf Association and subsequently served on the board of the Ladies European (Golf) Tour. She is a frequent broadcast commentator, lecturer and public speaker around the world.

Donald Steel

Former Chief Communications Advisor, BBC

Vice President, Crisis Communications, Kenyon International Emergency Services

Donald Steel has built a global reputation as a crisis communicator.  For more than 25 years he has given strategic counsel to organisations and high profile individuals in a range of serious situations, including aircraft incidents, terrorism, kidnapping, serious accidents, executive and personal misconduct, fraud, litigation and inquests and serious regulatory and diplomatic issues.

He was for 11 years, the chief media spokesman of the BBC.

In his own practice, based in London, he worlds with a range of corporate, government, NGO and individual clients across the UK, Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, North America and Asia Pacific and Australasia.   His clients includes airlines, hospitals, universities, hotel groups, UN agencies, orchestras, the Eurovision Song Contest, arts venues and high profile artistes.

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in London and of the Royal Society of Arts.  He is a regular guest lecturer at the London School of Economics and the China Media Centre of the University of Westminster.

Alongside his own practice, last year he was appointed Vice President, Crisis Communications at Kenyon International Emergency Services, the worlds longest serving and most admired responder to incidents involving fatality and injury.  Based in Houston, Berkshire (UK), Beirut and Santo Domingo, Kenyon’s clients range from leading airlines, cruise companies, hotel groups, governments, police forces, local authorise and companies across the world who work in high risk situations.  In this role, Donald leads a team of senior crisis communicators based around the world, ready to respond to clients.

He was a member of Aviation Futures, a recent think tank of the UK Civil Aviation Authority supporting the CAA on planning the regulation of future developments in aviation.

Piers Rosenfeld-Schreiber

BT

Corporate Affairs Director, Business

Piers is an international expert in reputation management. He currently leads corporate affairs team for Business at BT, with operations in over 70 countries. Previously he headed corporate communications for Jumeirah, the luxury hotel group, headquartered in the UAE. As an advisor on corporate affairs and crisis communications he has undertaken international assignments for many public and private sector organisations. His earlier career included leadership positions in a listed Dutch telecoms company, Ogilvy PR, The Rowland Company (Saatchi & Saatchi) across central and eastern Europe and as PR Officer for the European Commission in Prague. A Cambridge graduate, with an MBA from Strathclyde, he started his career as a university lecturer in France and the Czech Republic.

Sean Gardner

Forbes #1 Social Media Power Influencer, Forbes Top 50 Marketing Influencer, Keynote Speaker, Huffington Post Columnist

CO-FOUNDER of the pioneering, Huffington Post "Twitter Powerhouses Series"​, which has interviewed hundreds of people in diverse fields - technology, business, health, philanthropy, travel, food and more - since 2010, and has been an influential voice in the social media conversation. Working for Apple Inc. right out of high school, Sean has delivered results for multi-national firms like Microsoft, Ford, Ultimate Software, Huawei, Marriott, and Silicon Valley Bank, and non-profits like World Vision and Charity: Water. He is both a board member and V.P. of Social Media for the World Communication Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and the social media producer for financial powerhouse TwinStarCU. He has also been a digital volunteer for GivingTuesday.org since 2013, and helps the U.N. Foundation promote and expand it online. THOUGHT-LEADER: He has given keynote addresses and presentations on digital strategy at NATO Headquarters, Harvard University, the annual Google Conference, the Smithsonian Institution, and at conferences and events in cities on 3 continents, including London, Amman, Kuala Lumpur, Istanbul, Belgrade, Hong Kong, New Delhi, and Kazan (Russia). Forbes'​ #1 Social Media Power Influencer, he's also been honored as one of the world's top marketers, writers, thinkers and social good advocates. He has been profiled in Entrepreneur, Inc, Huffington Post, Hootsuite, and Glamour Magazine for his personal branding tips and marketing expertise; given live commentary on the BBC, Al Jazeera, and CNN; and his written work has appeared in Fast Company and Buzzfeed. When he's not traveling for business, he's working on his next two books. PASSIONS: Mobile Strategy, Wearable Tech, Social Selling, Big Data, Collaborative Leadership, Predictive Analytics, Internet of Things, Digital Diplomacy, Travel & Tourism VISION: A more connected planet, with people working together to produce constructive, responsible solutions to our most serious problems.

Patricia Yates

Visit Britain

Director of Strategy and Communications

Patricia Yates leads Visit Britains strategy and communications division which delivers on the organizations statutory duty to advise Government on tourism matters in particular those that affect Britain, including global competitiveness, research, insights and analytics, communication with stakeholders, media and staff and leading the industry in times of crisis.

Colleen Harris

Former Press Secretary To Princes Charles, William And Harry

Former Adviser, World Health Organization, Elton John Aids Foundation

With more than 25 years’ experience ranging from the British Royal Household, via Downing Street, to international NGOs, Colleen Harris has a strong track record of working in high-profile media and communications roles. This professional experience is complemented by a broad portfolio of trusteeships and non-executive director roles in the arts, education and health. Colleen held a senior communications position in the Prime Minister’s Office before being appointed Press Secretary to HRH the Prince of Wales, and was the first Black member of the Royal Household. She handled the media for The Prince of Wales during some of the most turbulent years, and also media-managed the emergence of Princes William and Harry into the public eye. Her career has included senior posts in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, and the Cabinet Office as well as in non-departmental Public Bodies. She has worked in Britain and abroad as a consultant with private companies, non-profit organisations and UN agencies, including the World Health Organisation. Colleen’s work in a wide variety of contexts has taught her about managing individual reputations, as well as how to use brand-development techniques to help clients identify and take full advantage of their strengths and skills – equipping them to define their own public profiles, and achieve personal and business success. Colleen’s board-level and executive experience has given her a good appreciation of how to inspire and lead teams, as well as insight into the qualities that CEOs and boards look for in high-level executives.

Esra Erkal Paler

Elsevier

EVP Global Communications

Considered to be one of Europe's most prominent communications professionals, Esra has a wide experience in building corporate reputation through communications, media relations and public affairs across various industries. She currently heads the Corporate Affairs function at Coty.  Previosly, she was Head of Global External Affairs at AstraZeneca. Prior to that, she was Director of Corporate Communications and External Affairs at L’Oreal, and Head of Corporate Affairs at Unilever. Esra is also the Chairwoman of the British Skin Foundation.

Andrew Widger

Pfizer

Senior Director, Global Media Relations

Andy is a Senior Director at Pfizer Inc, leading the strategy and execution of corporate Media Relations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Andy has led communications for over 25 years, across differing sectors and geographies, working with executives and their leadership teams around the world to manage business and share price sensitive announcements and issues.

In his current role as Pfizer’s lead spokesperson in the region, Andy has managed proactive and reactive communications for a company with a “headline profile” throughout the pandemic, covering ground-breaking scientific and commercial developments, as well as matters of significant public health importance in a highly complex and regulated industry sector.

Prior to Pfizer, Andy headed up communications within media businesses – for the BBC’s commercial arm and the UK’s news agency the Press Association – supporting these businesses’ commercial and corporate objectives with multi-channel engagement programmes tailored to different audiences around the world.

Katie Morse

Nielsen

VP, Digital Marketing

Katie Morse is currently the Vice President, Digital Marketing at Nielsen. She joined the company in 2014 and has previously worked on digital marketing initiatives for brands including American Express, Radian6, and Billboard – including creating the social media strategy for the 2012 and 2013 Billboard Music Awards. In her role at Nielsen, she is responsible for leading social media, search marketing and analytics initiatives, and providing guidance and counsel to Nielsen’s marketing, communications, data science and operations teams in 106 markets around the world with proactive consumer marketing efforts and reputation management issues. Katie holds a bachelor of science in Business (Marketing) from North Carolina State University and sits on the advisory board for The Ticket Fairy, and recently won a Shorty Award for Nielsen’s “Nielsen Around The World” campaign. 

Natan Edelsburg

Muck Rack

Chief Partnerships Officer

Lauren Day

Prudential Financial, Inc.

Chief Communications Officer

Lauren Day is chief communications officer of Prudential Financial, Inc. She leads an integrated, strategy-led organization designed to generate competitive advantage for Prudential and its diversified businesses worldwide.

Previously, Day was a managing director and head of corporate communications at the primary U.S. subsidiary of AXA S.A., where she was a member of the executive management group and served on the Board of Directors of the AXA Foundation. 

Day also served as director of strategic communications for American International Group (AIG), where she oversaw communications strategy and execution for the company’s global restructuring and recapitalization program. Prior to that, she was a senior associate in the capital markets group of AIG Investments.

Day began her career as a legislative aide in the Connecticut State Legislature, and later as a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellow at KfW Bankengruppe in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, where she focused on microfinance and microinsurance products.

In 2016, Day was named to PRWeek’s “Top 40 under 40” and, in 2017, was named one of PR News’ “Top Women in PR.” She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Dartmouth College, where she was named a Presidential Scholar. She is an individual member of the American Council on Germany.

James Gregson

Lego

Head of Social Studio

James began his career in ‘non-traditional’ brand strategy and through his experience has built a combination of technical understanding and conceptual creativity to craft effective, measurable programs for clients and brands alike.

Currently, James is a senior leader within The LEGO Group’s internal creative agency. As the Head of the LEGO Social Studio, leading a team of digital content strategists, creative designers, producers, and video editors. Responsible for creating best-in-class digital content for LEGO social media channels.

Peter Himler

PCNY

President

Peter is founding principal of Flatiron Communications LLC, a New York City-based PR/digital media consultancy that helps emerging and established companies capitalize on the latest communications technologies and news, content and social marketing strategies. He is an award-winning PR executive who led the media relations teams at several esteemed global PR firms including Edelman, Burson-Marsteller, Cohn & Wolfe and Hill and Knowlton before starting Flatiron in 2005.
In addition to running Flatiron, Peter has written since 2011 for Forbes.com on the intersection of media, technology and marketing. He also founded and edits the “Adventures in Consumer Technology” publication for Medium.com, which has 44,000 followers. He is solidly engaged in the social graph primarily on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Periscope and LinkedIn.
Peter serves as president of the Publicity Club of New York, is active with the New York Tech Meetup, and sits on the executive board of the Communications and Media Studies Program at Tufts University from which he holds a B.A. in Political Science and French. He and his wife Barbara reside in New York City and are proud parents to three exceptional sons.

Esther-Mireya Tejeda

Entercom

Vice President, Corporate Communications

Esther Mireya Tejeda is a seasoned communications strategist with over 14 years of experience developing and executing strategic communications and public relations. Currently, Tejeda is the head of corporate communications and public relations for Entercom Communications, the 4th largest radio broadcaster and one of the best performing and fastest growing media companies in the U.S. At Entercom, Tejeda launched the company’s first-ever in-house communications practice to shape the narrative supporting the company’s portfolio of 128 highly rated radio stations in 28 top markets across the country. Most recently, Tejeda is spearheading the external and internal communications strategies for Entercom’s high profile merger with CBS Radio, a transaction that will make Entercom the country’s 2nd largest radio platform and a leading local media and entertainment company with robust digital and events platforms nationwide. Additionally, Tejeda oversees the development of communications plans in support of key strategic functions, including Programming and Content Innovation, Ad Sales Marketing, Content Distribution, Research and Strategy, Digital and Social Enterprise, Corporate Marketing and Branding, and Human Resources. She also leads and orchestrates the communications strategies in support of the local clusters to ensure connectivity of messaging, maximized effectiveness, and consistency in strategy market-by-market laddering up to Entercom’s corporate business objectives. Tejeda serves as strategic counsel for Entercom’s C-Suite, including the CEO, COO, CFO, CMO and General Counsel, and also serves as a company spokesperson.
Previously, Tejeda led the corporate communications practice for Univision Communications Inc., the leading media company serving Hispanic America, where she orchestrated and executed the communications strategies for the company’s sports business, advertising sales, brand and corporate marketing, research and
ratings, financial and investor relations and local television and radio media groups. In this role, Tejeda launched the company’s sports communications practice and successfully managed the company’s partnership with FIFA for the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament. Under Tejeda’s leadership, the Univision Deportes brand garnered significant industry accolades for unparalleled production of the international soccer tournament, often besting sports broadcasting giant ESPN. Additionally, Tejeda also developed executive visibility and thought leadership strategies and managed the company’s corporate reputation, including the communications through the pending transition from privately-held to public and all strategic communications planning with the New York Stock Exchange. While at Univision, Tejeda was selected for the company’s high potential leadership program, a highly competitive executive development program that taps the organization’s future leaders.
Prior to joining Univision, Tejeda led the public relations and communications for PepsiCo’s portfolio of trademark brands including Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi MAX and Pepsi Next. While at PepsiCo, she developed the public relations strategies for Pepsi’s strategic partnership with the NFL for the 2011 and 2012 Super Bowl, including successful campaigns for the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show. Tejeda was a critical player in the ideation and launch of Pepsi’s first ever global campaign, “Live for Now”, in 2011. As an extension of the “Live for Now” campaign, Tejeda spearheaded the public relations strategies for the brand’s celebrity partnerships with heavy-hitting musical superstars including Beyonce, Katy Perry, Blake Shelton and Nikki Minaj and the brand’s strategic partnership with Simon Cowell’s hit reality TV music competition, “X-Factor”. While at PepsiCo, Tejeda also managed the public relations strategies for the trademark’s partnerships with MLB, MLS and NASCAR as well as the GRAMMY Awards, the Country Music Awards, the MTV VMA’s and the Latin GRAMMY Awards, among others.
Tejeda spearheaded the global communications and public relations practice for Sovereign Brands, a global luxury wine and spirits company. At Sovereign, Tejeda launched the Armand de Brignac “Ace of Spades” Champagne brand, a joint venture with renowned musical artist Jay-Z and his company, Shawn Carter Enterprises. Previously, she also led communications at Diageo North America on brands including Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Red Stripe and started her career at the globally acclaimed Ogilvy & Mather firm.
Tejeda earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from The New School. She also completed an international study program at the Instituto Internacional en Espana in Madrid, Spain with a focus on Spanish language. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the national Hispanic Public Relations Association.