How Top Brands Turn Their Leaders into Influencers

Free On-Demand Video

Making News with Your In-house Experts

  

Overview

Learn how executives from Macy's, Danone, Evian and more get their executives on the news. Watch this free on-demand video as industry leaders share their insights on the best practices for a brand spokesperson to get their story out there and deliver it with authenticity. We’ll discuss message development, opportunities for broadcast coverage, social media video, training and preparation, developing story angles, the importance of representing diverse leaders as spokespeople, and more.  The panel will be discussing Brand Visibility 2020 (download here), a survey of 366 journalists by D S Simon Media as well as tactics to get your or your client’s executives featured in the media in a positive story. 

Host

Doug Simon, CEO, D S Simon Media | @DSSimon 

Doug Simon is the CEO of award-winning firm D S Simon Media. His firm advises and executes broadcast and social media video communications campaigns for leading brands and non-profits. As media preferences have changed, this increasingly includes featuring CEOs and other executives in satellite media tours in the travel, consumer, technology, healthcare and financial services spaces. Doug began his broadcast career at NBC Sports, where he served as Talent Assistant to Bob Costas. His hobbies include performing stand-up comedy at New York’s top clubs and rooting for terrible sports teams including the Jets and Knicks while still remaining optimistic. 

Guests

Michael Neuwirth, Senior Director, External Communications, Danone North America

Michael Neuwirth leads external communications for the businesses of Danone in North America.  He is based at the company’s White Plains, NY headquarter office and leads the company’s relationships with journalists and on various corporate communications topics, including crisis communications for the company’s yogurt division. Michael has spent the majority of his career advocating and influencing for better food and agricultural choices for the betterment of people and our planet. Michael has extensive experience in crafting communications, including the past 14 years with Danone’s integrated businesses, and seven years in the company’s North American bottled water and specialty foods businesses, where he served as Director of Corporate Communications for Evian and other brands from 1994 to 2001.  Michael left Danone in 2001 and later returned after working for three years building organic food company Acirca and its flagship brand Walnut Acres, before selling it to Hain-Celestial.  Following this he served for two years as SVP of the marketing practice at Ruder Finn, an independent public relations agency based in New York. He started his career at Porter Novelli, an Omnicom public relations agency, on behalf of Gillette and other clients. 

​Orlando Veras, Director of National Media Relations, Macy's, Inc.

The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks are among the most iconic events celebrated in the United States. As director of national media relations, Orlando Veras serves as a spokesperson while also playing a key role in the communications strategy and execution of these events. He also oversees national and regional communications strategy and execution of press initiatives focused on Macy’s Technology and Digital Customer Experience projects such as the mobile app, social commerce, in-store tech enhancements, digital media, mobile payments, virtual and augmented reality projects and related e-commerce programs. His portfolio also extends to experiential retail concepts, brand management and partnership marketing initiatives, diversity and inclusion efforts and tourism marketing projects. 

Jeanne M. Salvatore, President, JMS Consulting & Adjunct Professor, Fashion Institute of Technology

Jeanne M. Salvatore is president of JMS Consulting, a full-service strategic communications firm offering life and executive coaching as well as media and presentation training.  Ms. Salvatore works with individuals and business organizations to help strategically turn change and disruption into opportunity.  She also coaches executives to appear on camera or give important presentations. Ms. Salvatore founded this firm in 2018 after serving in a leadership capacity at the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).  The I.I.I. is a non-profit trade association that represents the property/casualty and reinsurance business. In her tenure at the I.I.I., she played a critical role in building the organization into the highly effective multi-media organization it is today.   She was the I.I.I.’s chief communications officer and it is primary spokesperson appearing frequently on broadcast media to represent the property/casualty insurance industry. As a spokesperson, she communicated complex insurance information into simple consumer-facing language to educate the public on what insurance is and how it works.  An important part of her responsibility was focused on communicating what to do before, during and after a disaster. She worked closely with the CEOs, the chief communications officers and the general counsels of the leading national/international insurance companies as well as state and federal government agencies and non-profits focused on safety and disaster preparedness.