Michelle Spolver, VP of corporate communications and IR for cybersecurity company, has been named chief communications officer.
The newly created role oversees all internal and external comms. reporting to founder, chairman and CEO Ken Xie.
Spolver led communications and IR over 12 years from the company's startup stage to its IPO.
She previously led PR for Check Point Software Technologies and handled corporate communications for Compaq Computer Corp.
Publicly traded Fortinet posted 2015 revenue of $1B.
Some well-honed communications strategies typically deployed in an activist situation must be set aside when the activist is also the founder of the company. Such situations require a more tailored response: one that respects the founder’s credibility without conceding the company’s future, addresses shareholders’ financial interests while acknowledging questions of legacy, and anticipates that the fight may be as personal and persistent as it is strategic.
Molly Fogarty, who rose to head of corporate affairs & sustainability at Nestle during a nearly 23-year stint, will join Brunswick Group as a partner in DC on Sept. 14.
Senior leaders have been exiting newly combined agencies since the wave of integrations started—the kind of departures that don't always make headlines but show up in who's running client accounts six months later.
Why CEO visibility is no longer optional as a communications tactic.
The “waiting period” that was once set aside for CEOs to develop their strategies before facing media scrutiny may be better used for corporate comms leaders get to know their CEO and what his or her short-term priorities will be.
