About the Conference

Our time is now! Corporate communicators are increasingly becoming trusted advisors to executives—steadily gaining recognition and leverage among enlightened leaders. With this reality, demands on communications professionals are running high. We’re being pulled in many directions by executives, employees, the media and the public. 

This conference gets real with trends, strategies, challenges and opportunities around belonging side by side with business strategy.

The Benefits to You

By attending this conference, you will:

• Learn how successful comms professionals are proactive and stay one step ahead of trends.  

• Discover strategies and tactics to handle emerging needs and issues before they happen.

• Find out how to reach the most important audiences where the are, quickly and effectively.

• Gain skills and knowledge on new communications methods, technology, and trends.

• Better understand which metrics will prove effectiveness to key stakeholders and the C-Suite.

• Learn from companies that are top in their industry and have the awards to prove it.

• Network, collaborate, and benchmark with your communications peers.

Who Should Attend

This conference is designed especially for professionals involved in the following business areas:

• Corporate Communications

• Employee Engagement

• Executive Relations

• Internal Communications

• Public Relations

• Social Media

• Stakeholder Engagement

Things to do Now

Register:
This event is free for members ($495 for non-members). Register now to join us for the live virtual event and to receive a link to watch later on-demand.

Get Involved:
If you would like to get involved in this year’s conference, please contact us.

• Sponsorship Opportunities: michael.felden@conferenceboard.org

• Speaker Opportunities: jill.christensen@conferenceboard.org

• Group Rates: ulei.kou@conferenceboard.org

• Marketing Partnerships: melissa.mianulli@conferenceboard.org

11:00-11:05 am

Welcome

Jill Christensen, Program Director, The Conference Board

11:05 am–11:40 am

Communicating During External Chaos and an Internal Company Transformation 

AT&T - the world's largest telecom company - is transforming in a number of ways. Transformation isn’t easy, and when you layer a global pandemic and racial injustice on top, it further complicates the journey.  Learn how AT&T is rising to the challenge and what you can do to seamlessly drive change.  

Mark Hyde, Assistant VP - Employee Communications, AT&T

11:40-12:15 pm

Building Purpose, Loyalty, and Pride @ Qualcomm

Hear how Qualcomm launched a global recognition and communications platform during the Pandemic that modernized their recognition practices, achieved a 90%+ participation rate in 90 days, and significantly moved the needle on employee engagement.  By aligning communication, change management, and recognition practices, organizations can increase engagement and create proud, loyal brand ambassadors, who sing your praises on social media.

Christi Gilhoi, Senior Manager of Employee Engagement, Qualcomm

12:15-12:35 pm
Break & Virtual Exhibits

12:35-12:45 pm

Session Recap, Virtual Poll & Pet Pics 1

Jill Christensen, Program Director, The Conference Board

12:45-1:20 pm

Winning Techniques to Identify and Champion Your Key Message

This interactive presentation – designed for both novice and experienced communicators – teaches effective techniques for identifying and conveying powerful points in speeches, presentations, conference panels, interviews, meetings, emails, and any other occasion in which championing a strong point is imperative to your job, your reputation, and your success.

Joel Schwartzberg, Senior Director of Strategic and Executive Communications, ASPCA

1:20-2:05 pm

To Be Announced

2:05-2:25 pm
Break & Virtual Exhibits

2:25-2:35 pm

Session Recap, Virtual Poll & Pet Pics 2

Jill Christensen, Program Director, The Conference Board

2:35-3:10 pm

INTERNAL COMMS TRACK

Don't Be Afraid of IT: How to Communicate Big Changes Effectively

Technology is at the core of a productive workplace. When there’s a change in platform or policy, employees can lose trust in their IT org. To help influence employees’ perception, it’s crucial to engage leadership, align your story to company values and goals, target your audience, and rethink training. Today you’ll learn how to make enterprise–wide changes feel seamless.

Jason Hays, Senior Manager of IT Communications, PayPal

EXTERNAL COMMS TRACK

The ‘New Normal’ of Crisis Management in a COVID–19 World

The session will de-code how crisis management has been redefined in a world grappling with COVID-19. We’ll dive into how corporations have reoriented themselves to the changing dynamics of communications, and the tools corporate communications and PR professionals are using to communicate with both internal and external stakeholders.  Priceless.

Sankalp Saini, Public Relations & Social Media Lead, India Post Payments Bank

3:15-3:55 pm

INTERNAL COMMS TRACK

Communicating During COVID-19: Keeping Employees Safe, Sane and Motivated

As a global consumer brand, Levi’s faced the challenges of COVID-19 at the epicenter of where it started – Wuhan China in December 2019. Learn how their internal communications team used a combination of channels and storytelling to address the crisis, chart the strategic course of the business, and continue to drive employee engagement worldwide.

Beth Ward Francesconi, Senior Director, Internal Communications, Levi Strauss & Co.

EXTERNAL COMMS TRACK

90–Day Plan to Prime Your New CEO

Plans change when a new executive joins your company. There goes that trusted relationship and fully developed engagement plan. So, what do you do next and how do you get off on the right foot? In this session you’ll learn how to build credibility with your new executive, and the best practices to succeed together.

Marti Powers, External Relations Country Manager, U.S. & General Manager, Global Shales, Shell

3:55-4:15 pm
Break & Virtual Exhibits

4:15-4:50 pm

Keep Employees Informed and Inspired, and They Can Catapult Your External Image

Join powerhouse speaker Edward Ford to hear inspiring ideas and new approaches, to deliver clear and compassionate internal communications. Why? Because informed, inspired, and engaged employees can serve as your greatest champions externally on social media – bolstering the opinions that critical stakeholders have about you. You’ll learn how to leverage employees as your greatest asset, as you look to broaden your reach, create positive brand awareness, and build trust.

Edward Ford, Senior Director, Talent Brand + Experience, Medidata

4:50-5:20 pm

Panel Discussion: How to Demonstrate Your Value to the C–Suite

As communications experts, we see the need to demonstrate our expertise and worth to the C–Suite, but what’s the most effective way to accomplish this without looking like we are posturing? Among the questions we’ll consider as part of this discussion are:

• How do we describe our work?
• How do we ensure alignment with business objectives?
• How do we measure success and present results?
• How do we demonstrate strategic thinking?

Moderator:

Jill Christensen, Program Director, The Conference Board

Panelists:

Mark Hyde, Assistant VP – Employee Communications, AT&T

Marti Powers, External Relations Country Manager, U.S. & General Manager, Global Shales, Shell

Edward Ford, Senior Director, Talent Brand + Experience, Medidata

5:20-5:30 pm

Session Recap, Virtual Poll, Pet Pics 3 & Day Two Housekeeping

Jill Christensen, Program Director, The Conference Board

11-11:10 am

Welcome, Pet Pics 4

Jill Christensen, Program Director, The Conference Board

11:10-11:45 am

Keys to Keep Stakeholders Informed and Engaged When It’s the Last Thing on the M&A Team’s Mind

When a company is pursuing an acquisition, merger or divestiture, it’s common for ‘the deal’ to take precedence over effective communication. While it’s critical that stakeholders remain in the know and engaged, it’s usually the last thing on the minds of the people who are crunching numbers and making the deal happen. In this session, we’ll dive into how to partner with the M&A team to ensure stakeholder communication and engagement do not take a back seat, in times of potential resistance and change.

Mary Lou Panzano, VP of U.S. Internal Communications, Bayer  

11:45 am-12:30 pm

To Be Announced

12:30-12:50 pm
Break & Virtual Exhibits

12:50-1:00 pm

Session Recap, Virtual Poll & Pet Pics Voting

Jill Christensen, Program Director, The Conference Board

1-1:35 pm

Pulsing Organizations Through Change

Change is one of the only constants in our world. The organizations that are going to come out on top are those which understand how and when to do it, who should be involved, and what to do with the results. By leveraging data–driven change, you can inform decisions around how you design/build/manage your change strategies. HP will show us how.

Debby McIsaac, Global Head of Employee Engagement & Social Impact, HP

1:35-2:10 pm

Seven Lessons in Leadership Communications

Needless to say, a 25–year–career in Corporate Communications partnering with senior executives at AT&T, Lucent Technologies, Pfizer, J&J, and Zoetis yields a tremendous amount of valuable lessons learned. In this session, Bill boils down his key takeaways to help communications professionals navigate the landscape and soar.

Bill Price, VP and Chief Communications Officer, Zoetis

2:10–2:15 pm

Session Recap, Pet Pics Winner & Closing Statements

Jill Christensen, Program Director, The Conference Board