Brad Whitworth

Current

• Sr Comm Mgr, Strategic Alliances at Cisco

Past

• Director Enterprise Communication at California State Auto Association
• Director, Internal Communications at PeopleSoft
• Internal Communications Manager at Hewlett-Packard

• External Communications Manager at HP
• Marketing and Communications Manager at Hewlett-Packard Company
• International Public Affairs Manager at Hewlett-Packard Company
• Employee Communications Manager at Hewlett-Packard Company
• Chairman, Board of Directors at International Association of Business Communicators
• Editor, Measure magazine at Hewlett-Packard Company
• Internal Communications Manager at Horace Mann
• Advertising Director at International Order of The Golden Rule (OGR)
• Sportscaster/announcer at KFRU
• Advertising Manager/Art Director at Illinois Observer magazine

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Education

• San Francisco Academy
• Santa Clara University
• International Assn of Business Communicators

• University of Missouri-Columbia
• University of Missouri-Columbia

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2 more...

Recommended

16 people have recommended Brad

Connections

500+ connections

Industry

Public Relations and Communications

Websites

• myRagan profile
• Contributing Author, IABC Book

Brad Whitworth’s Summary

Senior communications executive with 25 years of experience in Fortune 20 high-tech, insurance and association management. Use business and journalism degrees, global thinking, outstanding communication skills and savvy leadership to raise strategic issues and produce measurable results.

Articulate spokesman … with outstanding track record with top-tier media outlets (CNN, Wall Street Journal, BBC, BusinessWeek, NY Times, Nikkei, USA Today, SJ Mercury News, Bloomberg, CBS, others). Wrote and delivered compelling US Congressional testimony. Regularly conducted customer and VIP briefings.

Creative strategist … who delivers communications solutions to business issues across multiple audiences. Developed vision and four-part business strategy for $20-plus billion personal computer organization and successfully communicated vision to customers, industry analysts and employees. Created and implemented comprehensive crisis communications program and training. Initiated process to define key corporate messages and leverage them across the entire company.

Global leader … with proven ability to manage local and worldwide teams to deliver measurable results. Built network of nearly 400 PR/marcom professionals and agencies across Asia Pacific, Latin America and Canada. Pioneered annual communications leadership workshop. Led financial turnaround for 14,000-member international professional association.

Trusted counselor … who coaches execs on presentations to customers, media, employees, investors and industry analysts. Directed communications through mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, openings, closings and top-level management changes. Contributing author to "The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication" (Jossey-Bass 2006). Produced quarterly documents used by CEO and CFO for financial analyst calls. Conducted media briefings for CEO, president.

Brad Whitworth’s Specialties:

Media relations, employee communication, strategic communication planning, public affairs, executive communication, speechwriting, sports marketing, international communication, corporate philanthropy, marketing communication, community relations, merger and acquisition communication.

Brad Whitworth’s Experience

• Sr Comm Mgr, Strategic Alliances

  Cisco

  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; CSCO; Computer Networking industry)

  January 2007 — Present (2 years 7 months)

• Director Enterprise Communication

  California State Auto Association

  (Non-Profit; 5001-10,000 employees; Leisure, Travel & Tourism industry)

  April 2005 — September 2006 (1 year 6 months)

  Launched first-ever management communications program for 100-year-old company, including leadership conferences, communications training for 800 managers
  - Inaugurated award-winning intranet discussion forum
  - Led 12-person team with $1.4 million annual budget

• Director, Internal Communications

  PeopleSoft

  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; PSFT; Computer Software industry)

  April 2004 — January 2005 (10 months)

  Managed comprehensive communications program for 12,000 employees during one of longest hostile takeover attempts in history of U.S. business
  · Developed and managed strategic internal communication program for field, exec, HR, employee and intranet
  · Created innovative measurement programs to guage communications effectiveness, including topic-specific online IQ tests
  · Wrote extensively for C-level executives, including CEO and CFO employee messages, quarterly earnings scripts
  · Led 10-person team with $2.5 million annual budget
  · Built internal branding and corporate values communication programs

• Internal Communications Manager

  Hewlett-Packard

  (Computer Hardware industry)

  February 2002 — July 2003 (1 year 6 months)

  Internal Communications Manager - Personal Systems Group
  Change-management communication for more than 15,000 employees across HP’s $20-billion personal computer business during Compaq merger
  
  · Developed Personal Systems Group business vision and messages following HP-Compaq merger and shared them with industry analysts, employees, customers
  · Launched new internal PSG websites for managers, business, HR, marketing
  · Initiated monthly worldwide managers’ teleconference and web-based feedback
  · Communicated merger successes and workforce rebalancing efforts

• External Communications Manager

  HP

  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; HPQ; Information Technology and Services industry)

  January 2000 — February 2002 (2 years 2 months)

  External Communications Manager - Computing Systems
  
  Developed and managed comprehensive executive communications program including speechwriting, media relations, analyst relations, executive engagements for HP’s enterprise systems group president and staff
  
  · Developed key messages for launch of significant new HP products for $20-billion, 15,000-person business group: high-end UNIX Superdome server, family of Itanium servers and workstations, software strategy
  · Managed internal communications program on merger team for HP-Compaq’s PC biz
  · Directed communications effort for key acquisitions and divestitures
  · Conducted cutting-edge quantitative research linking managerial communications effectiveness to job productivity

• Marketing and Communications Manager

  Hewlett-Packard Company

  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; HPQ; Computer Hardware industry)

  May 1999 — January 2000 (9 months)

  Marketing and Communications Manager - Y2K Program
  Led HP’s largest-ever communications outreach program, reaching 35 million people worldwide on live CNN broadcasts
  Created and implemented comprehensive Y2K communication strategies and action plans for customers, employees, investors, media and communities
  · Directed staff of four, PR agency, and indirectly coordinated global network of hundreds of PR/marcom pros/agencies
  · Arranged global CNN coverage from inside HP’s Y2K command center on New Year’s Eve. Led to complimentary follow-on stories in Wall Street Journal, LA Times
  · Served as Y2K spokesperson responding to inquiries from BizWeek, BBC, USA Today, NBC, CNN, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, SJ Mercury-News, SF Chronicle and more
  · Developed Y2K messaging, scripts and media briefs for HP CEO Carly Fiorina
  · Wrote and delivered US Congressional testimony, speeches on Y2K preparedness
  · Led Y2K crisis communications planning and training that earned IABC Gold Quill

• International Public Affairs Manager

  Hewlett-Packard Company

  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; HPQ; Computer Hardware industry)

  1991 — May 1999 (8 years)

  International Public Affairs and Communications Manager
  Managed direct staff of six, indirectly managed network of 400 PR/marcom pros/agencies in Asia Pacific, Latin America and Canada. Provided ongoing counsel to vice president and staff for fastest-growing sales organization.
  · Managed press activities for high-profile sports marketing activities (World Cup, America’s Cup) and VIP visits (e.g. Korean and Romanian presidents)
  · Served as spokesperson for controversial non-U.S. issues (offshore manufacturing, NAFTA, etc.), and led media relations with non-U.S. reporters (Financial Times, Nikkei, SkyTV, etc.)
  · Developed HP CEO Lew Platt’s presentations
  · Briefed thousands of customers in executive briefing center.
  · Launched first external site, developing and publishing corporate info
  · Developed and conducted communications, brand and media training for HP managers, communicators and agencies around the world
  · Grew HP’s philanthropy program by 250% over four years

• Employee Communications Manager

  Hewlett-Packard Company

  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; HPQ; Computer Hardware industry)

  1985 — 1991 (6 years)

  Employee Communications Manager - Corporate PR
  Managed companywide communications programs that helped HP land #7 spot in 100 Best Companies to Work for in America and on Fortune’s most-admired companies list
  · Managed direct staff of five professionals, and a network of 100 employee communications specialists
  · Conceived of, orchestrated 50th anniversary “One Day at HP” photo project
  · Conducted ground-breaking research quantitatively proving direct link between managerial communications and employee satisfaction
  · Developed employee messages and presentations for HP CEO John Young
  · Pioneered HP’s annual Communicators’ Workshop
  · Launched award-winning HP VideoMagazine for employees
  · Directed compensation and benefits communications for HR
  · Led face-to-face communication workshops for HP executives, supervisors. Featured speaker for workshops with customers General Electric, Pepsi, Motorola, Northrop, Citicorp, American Red Cross, GTE and Honeywell

• Chairman, Board of Directors

  International Association of Business Communicators

  (Non-Profit; 11-50 employees; Non-Profit Organization Management industry)

  June 1989 — June 1990 (1 year 1 month)

  Past Chairman 1990-1991
  Chairman 1989-1990
  Vice Chairman 1988-1989
  IABC Board Member 1984-1988
  President, Silicon Valley Chapter 1981
  President, Heart of Illinois Chapter 1979
  
  Fellow 1996
  Accredited Business Communicator 1982
  
  Winner Six IABC Gold Quills

• Editor, Measure magazine

  Hewlett-Packard Company

  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; HPQ; Computer Hardware industry)

  1980 — 1985 (5 years)

  Editor, Measure magazine - Corporate Public Relations
  Increased readership levels for global magazine while decreasing costs.
  · Grew magazine from 16-page black-and-white monthly for 40,000 to 32-page full-color bimonthly for 95,000 employees while significantly reducing per-copy cost
  · Won three IABC Gold Quills plus numerous local awards for magazine’s writing, illustration and graphic design

• Internal Communications Manager

  Horace Mann

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; Insurance industry)

  1977 — 1980 (3 years)

  Manager of Employee Communications
  · Produced weekly video magazine and weekly newsletter for home office staff of 1,200 and field sales force of 500
  · Established and programmed town-hall meetings, all-manager meetings and incentive-sales presentations for CEO

• Advertising Director

  International Order of The Golden Rule (OGR)

  (Non-Profit Organization Management industry)

  1975 — 1977 (2 years)

• Sportscaster/announcer

  KFRU

  (Broadcast Media industry)

  1970 — 1975 (5 years)

• Advertising Manager/Art Director

  Illinois Observer magazine

  (Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Publishing industry)

  1975 — 1975 (less than a year)

  Key staff member of statewide political magazine based in Springfield, Ill.

Brad Whitworth’s Education

• San Francisco Academy

  Certificate , Communications Management , 1996 — 1997

• Santa Clara University

  MBA , Marketing , 1982 — 1988

• International Assn of Business Communicators

  ABC , Professional Accreditation , 1982

  Named IABC Fellow in 1996

• University of Missouri-Columbia

  BJ , Journalism - Magazine , 1971 — 1975

  Activities and Societies:

  Editor of Savitar yearbook, undergraduate teaching assistant in journalism

• University of Missouri-Columbia

  BA , Speech - Radio, TV, Film , 1971 — 1975

  Activities and Societies:

  Announcer/producer/engineer for university's NPR station: KBIA-FM

Additional Information

Brad Whitworth’s Websites:

• myRagan profile
• Contributing Author, IABC Book

Brad Whitworth’s Interests:

Brad likes eating sushi, driving Porsches, downhill skiing, tasting California wines, reading, rock climbing, scuba diving, watching ice hockey and listening to R&B music, though not all at the same time.

Brad Whitworth’s Groups:

International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), San Francisco Academy

•    HP Alumni
•    PeopleSoft Alumni Network (3,547 members)
•    Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals
•    CISCO
•    University of Missouri Alumni
•    IABC's - ABC (Accredited Business Communicators) Forum
•    International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)
•    Santa Clara University MBA Alumni
•    AAA/CAA Alumni Connection
•    Ned's JOTW - A World in Communication
•    Melcrum's Communicators' Network
•    Silicon Valley IABC
•    Influencer Marketing & Influencer Relations

Brad Whitworth’s Honors:

Fellow, International Association of Business Communicators
Six IABC Gold Quill awards for communication excellence
Contributing author: The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication