Eleanor Clift, Newsweek columnist and panelist on “The McLaughlin Group,” and Maria Bartiromo of the “Closing Bell” program on CNBC, were among the speakers at the 57th annual Seminar (formerly PR Seminar) May 28-31 at the Four Seasons Troon, Scottsdale, Ariz.
About 150 blue chip corporate executives and their spouses or companions, as well as a dozen heads of the largest PR firms were present.
The group dropped “PR” from its name last year, members noting that almost none of them have PR as part of their titles. Most switched to “corporate communications” years ago. They also said that “PR” was “too limiting” a term to be applied to what their current job duties encompass which may include internal as well as external affairs, corporate philanthropy, marketing, strategic planning and many types of global responsibilities. Many are also in control or have influence on corporate ad budgets.
New name for PR Seminar after 57 years.
|
Press relations is a function that typically reports to the executives rather than something they are personally involved in.
As usual, proceedings of Seminar were “off-the-record,” a promise that is extracted from all speakers at the meeting, including the journalists.
While editors and reporters of almost all of the nation’s leading media have addressed Seminar over the years, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, etc., none has ever mentioned even the existence of Seminar. PR Society CEOs attended for many years but withheld mention as do all of the ad/PR trade press with the exception of O’Dwyer’s.
Many members also belong to the Arthur W. Page Society and The Wise Men, a New York PR group.
Seminarians keep in touch with each other throughout the year and the Seminarian executive committee meets regularly in New York. A compilation of more than 100 biographies of members is usually distributed at the meeting.
Clift Discussed Candidates
Clift, whose views on the presidential candidates can be heard each Sunday morning on “The McLaughlin Group,” was on a panel with two others whose topic was, “The 2008 Election: A Generational Change?”
Eleanor Clift |
The other panelists were Margaret Carlson, columnist with Bloomberg News, and Michele Norris, host of “All Things Considered” on NPR News.
Kathleen Matthews of Marriott International was moderator and session chair was Terry Straub of United States Steel. This panel led off the Seminar, running from 8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Thursday, May 29.
Seminarians went to a reception on Wednesday night at the Fountain Terrace patio sponsored by Steve Harris, VP-global communications of General Motors. “Freshmen” (new members) went to a special reception from 6 to 6:30 p.m. sponsored by Irv Miller of Toyota.
Seminarians were welcomed to the meeting Thursday morning by Stephen Johnson of Union Bank of California, chair of Seminar; Charlotte Otto of Procter & Gamble, program chair, and Johanna Schneider of the Business Roundtable, secretary/treasurer.
Leisure activities available to attendees included golf, tennis, spa and a Pinnacle Peak Hike.
Bartiromo Spoke on 'Global Markets'
Maria Bartiromo |
Bartiromo, anchor of “Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo” on CNBC, gave a solo speech on “Global Markets: How Tough Is It? A Business Perspective.”
Gary Sheffer of General Electric was moderator of the program.
Members of Seminar pay several thousand dollars of registration fees to reimburse the speakers. Cost of attendance, including a companion and travel, can run to $5,000 and more for the four-day session.
Clift's speaking fees range from $10,000-$20,000 for engagements on the West Coast, according to her speakers bureau, Leading Authorities. Speakers.com puts Bartiromo's rate at more than $40K.
Sustainable Business Is Coke Theme
Neville Isdell, chairman & CEO, Coca-Cola Co., spoke on “Sustainable Business Through Sustainable Communities.” Session chair was Tom Mattia, director of worldwide PA and communications of the company.
“Homeland Security: Challenges for the Next U.S. Administration,” was discussed by Kurt Campbell, CEO and co-founder, Center for a New American Security. Session chair was Steve Johnson of Union Bank of California.
Four Break-out Sessions
In a departure from the usual format of general sessions for all attendees, Seminar this year devoted Thursday afternoon to four “Seminarian Connect Sessions.”
Logo previously used
by (PR) Seminar |
Sally Cowal of PSI led a session on “New Directions in Philanthropy”; Jon Iwata of IBM a session on “The Collision of Emerging Technology, Business and Public Policy”; Gary Sheffer of General Electric a session on “Is Sustainability Sustainable?” and Michael O’Neill of American Express a session on “When Financial Markets Collapse.”
Education, Mood of America Examined
Peter Hart of Hart Research, and Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Research spoke on “The Mood of America” in a panel chaired by Harris.
Harold Burson of Burson-Marsteller chaired a session on “Is the Elephant Becoming a Tiger: India’s Incomplete Transformation” with Shashi Tharoor, chairman of Afras Ventures as the speaker.
Richard Edelman of Edelman chaired a session on “Demystifying Professionalism: The Barefoot Approach” at which the speaker was Bunker Roy, Director, The Barefoot College.
“The Art & Science of Game Changing Innovation” featured A.G. Lafley, CEO of Procter & Gamble. Session chair was Otto and moderator was Scott Anthony, president of Innosight.
Revolution in Health Discussed
A Saturday morning general session was devoted to “Revolution in Healthcare: The Emergence of Predictive, Personalized, Preventive and Participatory Medicine.” Speaker was Dr. Lee Hood, president, Institute for Systems Biology. Phyllis Piano of Amgen was session chair.
Four Seasons Troon, Scottsdale, Ariz. |
The final panel considered “Do You Know Who You’re Talking With: Corporate Communications in a New Media World.”
Panelists were Dan Gillmor, director of the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship of the Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication, Arizona State University; Gordon Crovitz, former publisher, Wall Street Journal and
executive VP, Dow Jones; Tara Hunt, co-founder, Citizen Agency, and Brett Pulley, CEO, New York.com. Gerard Meuchner of Kodak was session chair.
The 2009 Seminar will be May 20-23 at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, Calif. A Seminar meeting at that resort in 1992 displeased some of the members who found fault with the prices, food, service, sound system and athletic facilities in replying to a post-meeting survey. Some found the staff “snooty” and said the service had a “certain negative edge/tone.”
Seminar was founded in 1952 by corporate PR executives who attended the annual meetings of the National Association of Manufacturers with their CEOs. |