Event Details

April 10, 2008 7:30am-9:00am

Communicating Through a Crisis – An Expert Panel Discussion

Location: O'Neill and Associates Boston Office: Thirty-One New Chardon Street - Steps from the Massachusetts State House and Boston City Hall
RSVP: Register Online

Consider this scenario: Your company’s systems network has been breached and personal data belonging to your customers has been stolen.

When and how do you inform the public of the security breach?
How do you respond to media and government inquiries?
How do you keep your employees up to date?

These and other crisis situations will be discussed in “Communicating Through a Crisis” by a panel of experts who will show you how to handle a communications crisis from the inside out. The panel, which includes public relations professionals and journalists, will discuss what you need to do in the event a crisis hits your business and how to plan for one. Topics will include internal communications, media relations, reputation management and communicating beyond the crisis.

Panel Moderator:

Cosmo Macero, Jr. is a vice president in the O’Neill and Associates communications practice where his client work touches virtually every major sector of the economy, including health care, financial services, energy services, real estate and development, tourism and media. Prior to joining O’Neill and Associates, Mr. Macero led the Boston Herald’s Business Today section to earn top national awards for breaking news coverage from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 2006.

Panelists:

Brett Arends writes R.O.I. (Return On Investment) a daily column for the online Wall Street Journal, dissecting where personal finance meets current affairs and how the latest news can make money for investors. Before joining the Wall Street Journal, he wrote about mutual funds and the investment industry in a twice-weekly column for TheStreet.com and in a weekly column for the Boston Herald.

Hugh Drummond is a vice president in O’Neill and Associates communications division, providing crisis communications support to clients in the aviation and long-term care sectors. Prior to joining O’Neill and Associates, Mr. Drummond was director of communications for the Massachusetts Bay Chapter of the American Red Cross. There, he served on numerous disaster relief and emergency support operations, which put him into regular contact with local, state and federal officials.

Ann S. Murphy is a vice president in the communications practice at O’Neill and Associates. Women’s Business Boston listed Ms. Murphy on their “Top 10 PR Specialists” list in September, 2006. Prior to joining O’Neill and Associates, Ms. Murphy was the director of media relations at Cablevision in Boston. Ms. Murphy also served as director of communications for the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and was also the deputy press secretary for Gov. William Weld and Lt. Gov. Paul Cellucci.

Edward Shultz is senior vice president and Director of Corporate Communications at Sovereign Bank. His responsibilities include overseeing public and news media relations, community relations, internal communications and emergency communications for the company. Shultz also speaks nationally on media relations and crisis management.

Join us from 7:30am-9:00am for breakfast and a timely discussion on April 10th!

Location: O’Neill and Associates Boston office is located at Thirty-One New Chardon Street, just steps away from the Massachusetts State House and Boston City Hall. Only a few minutes walk from North Station, O’Neill and Associates is conveniently accessed by subway, commuter train, or car. Parking is available at the Government Center Garage at 50 New Sudbury Street.