The CEO Is the Public Face of Your Company, and the Stakes Have Never Been Higher

Not so long ago, CEOs were not the public face of their companies. Most often, companies didn't even need a public face, least of all from a chief executive. But in the age of always-on media and the rise of superstar chief executives, CEOs must constantly give voice to the organizations they lead. But the stakes are very high.

Now, as public communicators, CEOs must not only explain company strategy and performance, they must also articulate company values and the role of their organization in society — all in an increasingly complex media environment.

In this Darden Ideas to Action podcast, Darden Professor June West and Steve Soltis, an executive communications guru who has written hundreds of speeches for top executives from Coca-Cola to McDonald’s, join host Sean Carr to look behind the scenes of the public CEO to examine case studies in success, failure and what it takes for a CEO to succeed as a communicator in a rapidly changing leadership role.

About the Expert

June West

Marjorie R. Sands Associate Professor of Business Administration

West is an expert on organizational communication, particularly during times of change.

West was instrumental in the 2003 inception of the Darden/Curry Partnership for Leaders in Education (PLE) to strategically combine the most innovative thinking in business and education to provide education leaders with skills necessary for managing schools. West served as the academic director and continues to be active in the PLE’s School Turnaround Specialist Program, now the most established turnaround program in the country.

She is the university faculty liaison to the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. West also directs a Darden faculty team that teaches in the summer orientation program for the Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellows program that places active-duty military officers in corporations for a one-year fellowship.

West has consulted for many organizations, including the Louisiana Department of Education and Mississippi State University Colleges of Business and Education.

B.S.Ed., The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; M.Ed., Kent State University; Ed.D., Lehigh University

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