The Crux of the Story

This is our first show of 2025, and we’re kicking things off with two esteemed guests: Rob Jekielek, Managing Director of The Harris Poll, and Dr. Rochelle Ford, the new CEO of the Arthur W. Page Society. They are here to discuss the Page-Harris Poll Confidence in Business Index, their joint global opinion survey just introduced at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The research highlights several critical issues that businesses must address, according to respondents, to build and sustain public confidence.

Medtronic SVP & Chief Communications Officer Torod Neptune discusses how communicators can help their companies create value and provides insights on the expanding role of the CCO, the importance of making the business case for diversity and his career as a highly sought-after communications professional who has led teams at major agencies and companies – including Bank of America, Verizon, Lenovo and now Medtronic.

Kevin Lawlor and Katie Wright of DDC Public Affairs share with us their takeaways.  They share thoughts on what tactics and strategies used during the recent elections might find their way into the work of PR and marketing professionals – and into issues advocacy.  They also provide insights about navigating Washington with the Republicans controlling both houses of Congress and the White House.

The United States and Canada share more than the world’s longest border between two countries – as the head of The Wilson’s Canada Institute informs us our cultures, our economies, and our national security are inextricably intertwined. Christopher Sands explores what might change given recent events and 2024 election outcomes.

In our 133rd episode, we speak with students who are already using their digital and communications know-how to create professional work for advertising and public relations clients. Awani Bildikar and Lindsey Pritchard work for The Carolina Agency, a student-run firm in its 20th year and part of an innovative curriculum experience at the University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Awani is the agency’s director, and Lindsey is its director of public relations.

Managing public issues inside large organizations has become a minefield as activists and critics, liberals and conservatives, tug at companies from multiple directions. Avoq’s managing director Eric Sedler provides a bit of a map for how we might best navigate these stormy waters. Sedler also discusses the 2023 merger of Kivvit and Subject Matter, the two firms that created Avoq. Kivvit was the successor to ASGK Public Strategies, a firm Eric Sedler started with David Axelrod and others.

Simplicity’s managing partner in the U.S. and Latin America has helped execute global and regional marketing and communications campaigns for some of the world’s top brands. He provides insights to how some top communications and marketing firms, including his own, represent U.S. companies in Latin America, represent Latin American companies in the U.S. and compete for the growing Latino market in the U.S.

The A.I. Index provides insights on attitudes about A.I., its power users and A.I.’s impact on newsrooms, social media consumption and communications tasks. The U.S. study was conducted by the University of South Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Dr. Robert Hartwig of the University of South Carolina’s Risk and Uncertainty Management Center at the Darla Moore School of Business shares insights about Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the risks associated with hurricanes, how to communicate about such risks, the assessment of corporate economic risks of all kinds and how we should think about the risks associated with climate change.

Two former chief communicators – Jane Randel (formerly of Liz Clairborne) and Charlene Wheeless (formerly of Bechtel) – tell us about a new way in which companies are hiring experienced execs to lead major projects and guide teams for an interim amount of time. We also speak with Jane Randel about her company, Karp Randel, focused on social change campaigns and an effort she’s been involved with to curb domestic violence and sexual assault. And we discuss Charlene Wheless’s book You Are Enough and her next career as leadership and professional development coach.