The communication function offers practitioners a rare opportunity. It is one of the few roles in any organization involved in every aspect of the business. In this Circle of Fellows panel, you will hear international perspectives on how the role of communication extends beyond the exchange of knowledge and information. The panel shares thoughts on how communication fosters organizational collaboration and can be viewed as a cornerstone for professional success. Learn how the fundamental principles of strategic communication excellence can apply across different business sectors, underscoring its value in any professional context, and how effective communication enhances teamwork and innovation, drives organizational growth, builds trust, inspires change, and helps achieve results. A communication role can position the communications professional to influence, impact, and potentially lead other business areas. (Did you know that the late Intel CEO Paul Otellini was a marketer before ascending to the company’s top job?).

About the panel

Neil Griffiths, ABC, Chart.PR, IABC Fellow, is the Global Head of Diversity, Equality & Inclusion at ERM, the world’s largest sustainability consultancy, where he is responsible for the global DE&I strategy and engagement plan. Neil’s background is varied, having spent the better part of 20 years in a series of external, brand, strategy, and internal communication roles before moving into DE&I. Neil has held leadership roles in several public, private, and non-profit organizations. In the volunteer space, Neil has held multiple leadership positions within the IABC and the Company of Communicators (CoC), one of the City of London’s modern Livery Companies. Volunteer highlights include being an inaugural Global Communications Certification Council member, Career Roadmap Committee member, Chair of the 2018 IABC World Conference (Montreal), Past Chair of IABC’s EMENA region, and, as of November 2020, Junior Warden of the CoC. Neil is a recipient of the IABC Regional Leader of the Year, Rae Hamlin, and IABC Chair’s Awards. In 2019, Neil was named IABC Fellow, the highest honor bestowed on an IABC member. With co-author Deborah Hinton, Neil has published two studies on the current and future state of the communication profession and advocates for channeling your best communication self regardless of where and how you work.

Russell Grossman, DipPR, ABC, FRSA, FCIPR, FCIM, IABC Fellow, has been a communications practitioner for nearly 40 years and a UK Senior Civil Servant since 2006. He’s the Director of Communications at the UK Rail Regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, and head of the Government Communication Service (GCS) internal communications profession. He’s a non-exec director of the “ Engage for Success ” movement to advance employee engagement and sponsor for both the GCS Fast Stream and GCS Talent. Russell and his long-suffering wife of 38 years are blessed with four children (one of whom also works within GCS) and five grandchildren.

Martha Muzychka, ABC, MC, speaks, writes, listens, and helps others do the same to make change happen. Martha is a strategic, creative problem solver seeking challenging communications environments where we can make a difference. She helps her clients navigate competing priorities and embrace communication challenges. Martha offers strategic planning, facilitation, consultation services, writing and editing, qualitative research, and policy analysis. Her work has been recognized locally, nationally, and internationally with multiple awards.

Jennifer Wah, ABC, SCMP, MC, IABC Fellow, has worked with clients to deliver ideas, plans, words, and results since she founded her storytelling and communications firm, Forwords Communication Inc., in 1997. Her agency has won over two dozen awards for excellence in strategic communications, writing, and consulting; Jennifer is recognized as a storyteller and strategist. She has worked in industries from healthcare to financial services to academia and is passionate about the opportunity for stories to inspire actions and reactions within organizations. After serving as faculty with Royal Roads University, Jennifer was named an Adjunct Professor at the UBC Sauder School of Business, where she teaches business communication to future business leaders. A lifelong IABC volunteer at all levels, Jennifer most recently served as past chair of the Ethics Committee and is looking forward to welcoming all to the World Conference in Vancouver in 2025.

Raw Transcript:

Hi everybody and welcome to episode number 111 of Circle of Fellows. This is a monthly panel discussion of fellows of the International Association of Business Communicators on topics of interest to those of you working in organizational communications, PR, marketing, that type of thing. And I am Shell Holtz.

I am Senior director of Communications at Web Corp. We’re a commercial builder in California, headquartered in San Francisco, and I’m coming from home today in Concord, California. I have a great panel with me today to discuss an extension of last month’s topic. Last month we talked about executive communication.

Today we’re going to talk about communication and leadership, which is adjacent but not directly connected to last month’s theme. And I’d like there are our panel to introduce themselves. We’ll go clockwise as I see you on the screen that puts you first. Russell. Hi [00:01:00 ] there. I’m Russell Grossman.

I’m director of Communications at the UK Rail Regulator, the Office of Berlin Road. And I’m also the head of profession for internal communications for the UK government. In the context of today’s discussion I’ve been in my current role for nine years on my particular executive committee. And previous to that, have sat on various boards and executive committees of organizations.

Thank you, Russell and Neil. Hi everybody, this is Neil Griffiths. I’m coming to you from Saff from Walden in the uk, which is just outside Cambridge for anybody that has any ge geographical knowledge of the uk. I am global and Europe, DEI director for Kearney, which is a global management consulting firm.

I’ve been with them for the past 18 months prior to that. Spent a long time also in professional services, in the sustainability space, working in a variety of roles, not just in, in diversity, equity and inclusion but also a long background in [00:02:00 ] communication roles. Looking forward to the discussion.

Me too. Jennifer, you’re up. Hi everyone. I’m here in North Vancouver, Canada which is just across the water from Vancouver Proper, where the World Conference will welcome professional communicators from all over the world. Next June. I’m super excited to see you all here. My agency is called FORWARDS Communication, and through that agency I do work in strategic storytelling consultation with organizations.

I’m also an adjunct professor at the UBC Solder School of Business, where I teach business communications. Really looking forward to today’s conversation and Martha. Thank you. She, I’m Martha Zeka. I’m based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, the east coast of Canada. I also like Jennifer sole proprietorship and independent consultant.

I do a lot of work coaching nonprofits as well as corporations working in the private sector [00:03:00 ] and a fair bit of board experience also at the not-for-profit level. So fair bit of engagement in terms of communications. I’m also a part-time instructor with the Gardner Institute School of Business at Memorial University, where we do ongoing professional development for people in business.

So it’s been a great opportunity to share the communications message and promote communications excellence. Thank you. And just a note to those of you who are watching live with us today. You do have the opportunity to participate in this conversation. You’re on YouTube there’s a place where you can enter your question, your comment, your observation and we’ll pop it up onto the screen and make it part of the discussion and really hope that you’ll take advantage of that because it makes these conversations more interesting when we’re able to talk about the things that you tell us you’re interested in.

Just to kick things off, I as a, as an avid fan of artificial intelligence asked [00:04:00 ] one of the AI models for examples of CEOs who got their start in communications. And it gave me an interesting first list. Chris Foster, who’s the CEO of Omnicom James Wright global, CEO of Red Haas Richard Edelman, of course, CEO of Edelman.

Chris Ruby Media Group and Julianne Richter head of Ogilvy. And I said, okay I can easily see how one might ascend to the leadership of a PR or advertising agency from within the ranks of that organization. Are there people who are running organizations that are not communication focused, that got their starts in communication and the model said, oh, sure.

Misha Dunna is CEO of S