PRSA’s Bold New Leader Matthew Marcial Is Ready to Shake Up the Industry

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the nation’s leading professional organization serving the communications community, has announced that Matthew Marcial, CAE, CMP, will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer, effective Monday, March 3, 2025. With over 15 years of experience in trade and professional associations, Marcial’s appointment marks a pivotal moment for PRSA as it looks to broaden its influence and enhance member engagement.

Marcial’s career began unexpectedly in the hospitality industry, where a high school job at a resort ignited his passion for anticipating needs and fostering meaningful connections.

"It was something I thought would be a fun job while I was in high school and getting ready for college," said Marcial. "I got bit by the bug and found my love of working with people. Many things that I learned in hospitality translated to the association space, like anticipating guests’ needs. A lot of that is closely tied to how we serve our members, and anticipating our members’ needs."

This philosophy has driven Marcial’s success in the association world. Most recently, he provided strategic consulting to nonprofit clients, helping them drive revenue and membership growth. Previously, he served as CEO of the National Association of College Auxiliary Services and held executive roles with The Institute of Internal Auditors, Meeting Professionals International, NAFA Fleet Management Association, and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.

At PRSA, Marcial will oversee all programmatic, financial, and operational aspects of the organization. Reporting to and collaborating with PRSA’s Board of Directors, he will be responsible for implementing the organization’s Strategic Plan and advocating for PR professionals.

“When we began the CEO search in mid-November, we made clear that PRSA needs a visionary, transformational, and collaborative leader who will propel our Society into the future,” said Ray Day, APR, 2025 PRSA Chair, Stagwell Vice Chair, and Allison Worldwide Executive Chair. “We found such a talented and experienced leader in Matt Marcial, and we can’t wait to introduce him to our members and see how he takes PRSA flying higher.”

Marcial is a recognized leader in the association industry, earning accolades such as Association Forum and USAE Forty Under 40 honoree. He is an active member and volunteer of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and has spoken at numerous industry conferences across North America and globally.

When asked about his leadership style, Marcial emphasized a balance of accountability, communication, and empathy.

"I want to hire and develop people who can do their jobs well and get out of their way so that we can be successful. I want to make sure that they’ve got the resources to be successful. I’m big on holding the team accountable for our goals — and also on my team holding me accountable for what I say I’m going to do. Being able to articulate the vision of where we’re heading — you can’t communicate those things enough, especially about big changes and big initiatives. Also, having empathy as a leader is important. Those things are key to my leadership style."

Marcial is also a strong proponent of innovation and continuous learning, encouraging his teams to embrace calculated risks and leverage insights from beyond the industry to fuel growth.

“With PRSA being a 75-year-old organization, the reputation of PRSA is tremendous. Being able to tie in where the organization is going with the new Strategic Plan was exciting,” said Marcial. "I see a lot of big initiatives, big projects that are going to be transformative for the organization. That was exciting to me, reading the projects that are in the Strategic Plan and what’s ahead. It’s what got me motivated in this role."

Marcial’s priorities for PRSA include expanding membership reach, broadening engagement across industries, and developing robust key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure growth and sustainability.

“We’re the leaders in business communications and communications around the globe. We’ve got all the expertise. So how can we leverage that to train folks who may not be in the communications space but need what our members offer? Those are opportunities for us. More specifically, I want to develop KPIs to measure our membership growth, member engagement, and nonmember engagement and see how we’re making progress. On the financial side, it’s important that we’re sustainable into the future. So, looking at our expenses, our revenue, to help us grow as an organization well into the future.”

Marcial holds a master’s degree in business administration from Florida International University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Saint Leo University. He also holds the Certified Association Executive (CAE) and Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designations, underscoring his expertise in association management and professional development.

He succeeds Philip Bonaventura, who has served as Interim CEO since January following the departure of Linda Thomas Brooks, who had held the role since 2021. Bonaventura will resume his full-time position as Chief Financial Officer, a role he has held since joining PRSA in 2007.

Looking ahead, Marcial is eager to engage with PRSA’s stakeholders and gain a deeper understanding of member needs.

“I’m excited to meet all of our stakeholders. I want to talk to everybody — our volunteer leaders, members, staff, and partners — to really understand the challenges that keep everyone up at night. Everybody’s got different perspectives. At associations, it’s easy to make assumptions about what everybody needs, but there are so many different segments of our membership, and everybody has different needs. Once we understand those things, it will help us create more robust strategies to develop tools and education for our members. I’m excited about listening and hearing what we’re doing well, what we need to continue doing, and what we need to change to help us grow.”