Takata Corp., the airbag maker enmeshed in a massive recall over exploding inflators, has hired Sard Verbinnen & Co to guide communications after criticism over its weak response to the crisis.
Alby Berman, the company's 69-year-old longtime VP of global communications, is retiring at the end of the year.
Takata chairman and CEO Shigehisa Takada, who has stayed out of the public light since the crisis flared earlier this year, in a statement Dec. 3 (PDF) outlined a four-point plan for the company to move forward, including formation of a quality assurance panel, the hiring of two former US Secretaries of Transportation – Rodney Slater and Hill+Knowlton Strategies alum Norman Mineta – to serve as special counsel, increased capacity to produce replacement kits, and "redoubling our efforts to learn all we can from past events."
The Japanese-owned company has faced consistent criticism for the recall and its low-profile response. As Automotive News noted Dec. 8, the "seeming lack of accountability" has drawn rare rebukes in Japan as the company in the US "has been anything but transparent in its response to the worldwide media uproar."
Added Takada: "A statement does not solve problems, but it does reflect our understanding of the current issues and our plans to address them. Takata is committed to being transparent and collaborative in all of our relationships with stakeholders and in demonstrating our commitment to public safety."
There’s a fine line between newsjacking and taking advantage, aka ambulance chasing. Our job as PR professionals is to tread it carefully.
PR firms need to be mindful of ways their work product may be protected by the attorney-client privilege whenever working with a client’s internal legal team or its external legal counsel.
Manuel Rocha, former US ambassador and intenational business advisor to LLYC, plans to plead guilty to charges that he was a secret agent for Cuba.
CEO mentoring is an often-overlooked aspect of why CEOs are able to make good decisions, and sometimes make bad ones—all of which intersects with the role and duties of a board. 
How organizations can anticipate, prepare and respond to crises in an increasingly complex world where a convergent landscape of global challenges, threats and risks seem to arrive at an unrelenting pace.
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