Jack Modzelewski
Born:
Connection to Illinois: Modzelewski is president of JackKnifePR, a Chicago-based buisiness communications consulting firm that provides advisory services to corporations, financial and legal firms, start-up enterprises, and large non-profit organizations. The firm specializes in corporate and marketing communications, crisis and risk management, leadership communications and visibility, financial and investor relations, and change management and turnaround programs. Recent clients have included a hospital system, an emerging biosciences company, an ag-tech firm, a supermarket chain, a private equity firm, a Canadian pharma firm, and independently owned communication agencies. Jack’s career spans all facets of business communications: public relations and public affairs, corporate communications, and marketing. As a result, he offers extensive experience and relevant advice for business solutions. Biography: Jack Modzelewski's book Talk Is Chief – Leadership, Communications & Credibility in a High-Stakes World was published in late 2019 by RosettaBooks and distributed by Simon & Schuster. It has been endorsed by many business leaders. He spent 27 years (1990-2017) with FleishmanHillard, a leading global communications firm owned by Omnicom Group (OMC) where he was president of the Americas with executive responsibility for the firm’s largest group of regions. He also served as global president, business development and partnerships, a role focussed on expanding relationships and opportunities with current and prospective clients. His teams won many prestigious awards during his career, including a Gold Lion with client General Motors at the 2015 Cannes Festival for Creativity, and Global Agency of the Year in 2014 from PRWeek. He has decades of experience with corporate and brand communications programs for a wide spectrum of clients in the telecommunications, automotive, food service, technology, manufacturing/industrial, energy, financial, and healthcare sectors. He has considerable experience in corporate and financial communications, mergers and organizational restructurings, issues management, and all means of strategic stakeholder outreach. He has assisted clients in 25 crises, both domestic and international. Earlier in his FleishmanHillard career he was based in London as president and chief operating officer of FleishmanHillard’s offices in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Under his leadership the firm’s EMEA revenue tripled while also adding offices in several countries to serve clients better. He joined FleishmanHillard as EVP/general manager in 1990 to open its first office in Chicago, which he grew considerably over nine years. Jack attended five World Economic Forums in Davos, Switzerland, and has spoken at WEF conferences on four continents. He has been a speaker and author on subjects spanning leadership, international business, marketing and social media opportunities, and risk and crisis management. His recent commentaries have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and other newspapers. As an author and expert on leadership and communication, he has been featured in the Financial Times, Forbes, Fast Company, Investor’s Business Daily, and business podcasts and radio programs. Prior to his career in public relations and communications, he was a multi-media, award-winning journalist. He began his career in New York at a prestigious advertising agency. His undergraduate degree in communications is from the University of Illinois, and he earned a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. He is a member of the Medill Hall of Achievement and has served on the Medill School of Journalism’s board of advisors since 2003. He attended Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and has participated in executive management programs taught by Harvard Business School faculty. Recently he became co-chair of the Communication Leaders of Chicago, a 501c6 entity whose members are communication leaders from companies, agencies, and other organizations. Jack is a past chairman of the board of the Better Government Association where he has served as director since 2011. He has served as a co-chairman for Northwestern University’s We Will capital campaign. He currently is co-chairman of the Communication Leaders of Chicago. He is also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago and The Chicago Club.
Awards:
Web: https://www.jackknifepr.com/
WorldCat: http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Jack++Modzelewski
Selected Titles
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Talk Is Chief: Leadership, Communication, and Credibility in a High-Stakes World ISBN: 1948122529 OCLC: 1104414760 RosettaBooks 2019 With compelling stories and strategies,Talk Is Chief inspires leaders and aspiring leaders to treat their daily communication practices as seriously as their fiscal, operational, value creation, deal making, business transformation, and other executive responsibilities. Leaders today spend up to 90 percent of each day communicating to make good things happen in their organizations. They communicate with colleagues, customers, shareowners, creditors, regulators, advocates, and competitors. They influence culture, opportunity, risk-taking, and risk aversion. The stakes in this new communication environment are very high, driving home Winston Churchill’s statement: “The difference between mere management and leadership is communication.” These days, leaders are likely to face adversity and career-testing situations. Crisis defines leaders and their organizations. But it does not have to take them down. Talk Is Chief provides sound advice, examples, and even a list of the “Ten Commandments of Crisis Management” so that leaders can either avoid crises or avert worst-case scenarios when confronted with an existential threat. Jack Modzelewski’s vast years of experience working with numerous Fortune 500 companies as a communications consultant tells us that too many leaders undervalue and therefore underperform their vital communication responsibilities. They do so at their own disadvantage and sometimes peril in this age of heightened activism, transparency, disinformation, and disruption. Whether they recognize it or not, leaders are chief credibility officers, with organizational reputations often resting on their words and actions, especially in times of crisis. As a CEO quoted in the book said: “Communication shouldn’t be just another hat that a CEO wears. It should be at the core of everything you do.” Leadership communication today—the ability for leaders to be heard and clearly understood above the constant noise of the complicated worlds in which they must lead or govern—is of the highest importance. It’s proven that effective leadership communication inspires people to perform collectively better, leading to better outcomes. Which is why Talk Is Chief is a must-read for twenty-first-century leaders. |