PROFESSOR DR JOEP CORNELISSEN

CORPORATE COMMUNICATION, LEADERSHIP AND THE FUTURE OF PR 

Joep Cornelissen is an author and Professor of Corporate Communication at VU University Amsterdam and the University of Leeds. He has taught courses on communication, strategic change and organization theory at Universities in Manchester, Madrid, Copenhagen, Leeds, and Amsterdam. His much-loved textbook, Corporate Communication: A Guide to Theory and Practice was published in its 3rd edition in March 2011, fully revised, extended and updated to take into account recent developments in strategic and corporate communication.

Besides his writing and teaching commitments, Joep is also an active researcher within the fields of communication and management and a General Editor of the Journal of Management Studies. His own current research focuses on the role of framing and narration in strategic change, entrepreneurial and innovation contexts.

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ROBERT HASTINGS - Thursday September 8th

PRINCIPLES OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS; THE US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE EXPERIENCE

Robert Hastings served as Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs during 2008 - 2009.  As the senior public affairs official and spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense, he served as principal staff advisor to the Secretary of Defense and senior Defense and Administration officials for worldwide strategic communication, public information, internal information, and community relations leading a worldwide public affairs community of some 3,800 military and civilian personnel. During his tenure with the Pentagon, Mr Hastings was a driving force in the development of the Department's Strategic Communications concept of operations.  He has held senior communications roles with BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman and is currently Senior VP, Communications for Bell Helicopters.

A retired U.S. Army officer with more than 20 years experience as a Master Army Aviator and Public Affairs Officer, his assignments include command of an Air Cavalry Troop, an Air Assault Company, and operational assignments in Germany, Eastern Europe, Central America, Iraq, and Bosnia.  Mr. Hastings continues to serve in uniform as a Colonel with the Texas Military Forces where he is assigned as Chief of Public Affairs for the Texas State Guard.

Robert was awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal in 2009 and was recently honoured by the University of Maryland University College as its 2010 Distinguished Alumni and by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) with the 2010 Lloyd B. Dennis Distinguished Leadership Award.  Additionally, he has earned PRSA's Silver Anvil Award of Excellence and IABC's Gold Quill Award for Excellence in Communications Management.

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PROFESSOR DAVID McKIE

PERFORMING PR: ARTFUL APPROACHES AND SCIENCE STRATEGIES FOR TEMPESTUOUS TIMES

In addressing the characteristics of the age, Dr McKie seeks to add urgency, to dramatise, and to upgrade the level of contemporary risk in the Congress theme of an age of turbulence to the greater fluctuation of tempestuous times. He suggests approaches that import ideas and practices from other fields. In particular, in seeking how to engage creatively and effectively with those challenges, he draws from two distinct areas: the first is the small, but increasingly influential, body of work that aims to innovate business and organisational performance in general through integrating theory and practice from the performing arts into leadership and management; the second revisits complexity theory for lessons in strategising in the face of the discontinuous, fast-moving changes and the ongoing uncertainty that mark the contemporary condition.

David teaches action learning, strategic communication and leadership as a professor at Waikato Management School. His co-authored academic books include one on environmental impacts published by Sage and a 2005 International Association of Business Communicators volume on The Business of Truth: A Guide to Ethical Communication.  Reconfiguring Public Relations (with Debasish Munshi), won the NCA PRIDE 2007 award for innovation, development, and educational achievement. In late 2009, he co-published (with Vikram Murthy), Please Don't Stop the Music: An Ensemble Leadership Repertoire, Productive Sustainability, and Strategic Innovation in the University of Sussex Globalisation, Technology and Sustainable Development Book Series. 

Currently co-writing two books on public relations and one on Action Learning and Leadership, David is qualified in Emotional Intelligence assessment, Rooke and Torbert's Leadership Development Profile (at the Alchemist stage) for mental models for leadership, and the World Institute of Action Learning Coaching. He also has international experience as a change, leadership, and strategic communication consultant in the private and public sectors. Consultancy / leadership assignments include AAPT, Healthcare New Zealand, Legal Services Association, New Zealand Police and Sri Lanka Insurance.

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MICHAEL MURPHY - Friday September 9th

Michael Murphy is Global CEO of Grayling, the second largest independent global Public Relations, Public Affairs, Investor Relations and Events consultancy in the world.  Grayling has 900 staff in 40 countries across the US, Western and Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific and revenues in excess of #100 million.  Its key clients include Coca-Cola, Google, McDonald's, Microsoft, Lloyds TSB and Western Union.   With a career spanning over 30 years, Michael has vast experience in handling global assignments in most parts of the world.  His specialist expertise includes corporate and business communications as well as issues and crisis management, and he has advised governments including the UK, China and Hong Kong on corporate reputation and other issues.

Formerly CEO of Shandwick Europe and Deputy CEO of Shandwick International, Michael was also a non-executive director of Think London - London's inward investment agency  - and a Trustee of the charity Action on Addiction.  He also chaired a joint study between the UK government and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) into the future of the UK public relations sector.