Gene Grabowski (communications strategist)

Last updated

Gene Grabowski
Gene-Grabowski-video.jpg
Gene Grabowski
Born
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Alma mater University of Pittsburgh, University of Michigan
OccupationCrisis Communications Strategist

Gene Grabowski (born 1954) is an American former journalist, and a prominent expert on crisis communications within the public relations industry. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Grabowski earned a BA in Writing and History at the University of Pittsburgh. He later did graduate work in management at the University of Michigan. [5]

Career

Grabowski began his career in communications as a reporter, working primarily in Washington, D.C. He covered congressional issues for the Associated Press and served as a White House reporter for The Washington Times and as Manager of Press Information at C-SPAN. [6] Grabowski left The Washington Times in protest after a disagreement over an article in the publication regarding then Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis and medical information. [7] [8] [9]

Grabowski's career in public relations has involved many food industry crises, including the 2015 Chipotle Mexican Grill E. coli outbreak, [10] 2015 Blue Bell Listeria scare, [11] and 2007 Pet Food Crisis. [12] He has also appeared as himself, the Vice President of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, in the documentary Super Size Me. [13] Grabowski has been a guest on ESPN's Mike & Mike morning show as a public relations expert for his client Roger Clemens after a media crisis. [14] [15]

Awards

In 2007, Grabowski was named PR News Crisis Manager of the Year for his work on various campaigns, including the litigation struggle of the Kuwaiti detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the 2007 Hasbro response to the global lead paint toy scare, [16] and the North American recalls of pet food. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheldon Rampton</span> American editor and author (born 1957)

Sheldon Rampton is an American editor and author. He was editor of PR Watch, and is the author of several books that criticize the public relations industry and what he sees as other forms of corporate and government propaganda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Dukakis</span> American politician (born 1933)

Michael Stanley Dukakis is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and only the second Greek-American governor in U.S. history, after Spiro Agnew. He was nominated by the Democratic Party for president in the 1988 election, losing to the Republican nominee, Vice President George H. W. Bush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chipotle Mexican Grill</span> American Mexican restaurant chain

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., often known simply as Chipotle, is an international chain of fast casual restaurants specializing in bowls, tacos, and Mission burritos made to order in front of the customer. As of March 2023, Chipotle has 3,200 restaurants. Its name derives from chipotle, the Nahuatl name for a smoked and dried jalapeño chili pepper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Lockhart</span> American spokesperson and consultant

Joseph Patrick Lockhart is a spokesman and communications consultant, best known for being the 21st White House Press Secretary during the administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton. Previously, he had worked as press secretary for several Democratic politicians, including Walter Mondale, Paul Simon, and Michael Dukakis. Following his work as press secretary in the Clinton administration, he was an advisor to John Kerry during his 2004 presidential campaign. He subsequently founded and became managing director of the communications consulting firm The Glover Park Group, worked for Facebook from 2011 to 2012, and was executive vice president of communications and public affairs for the NFL from 2016 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ketchum Inc.</span> American public relations firm

Ketchum Inc. is a global public relations firm, offering marketing, branding, and corporate communications services in the corporate, healthcare, food and beverage, and technology industries. George Ketchum founded the firm as a Pittsburgh-based advertising company in 1923. It later evolved to include a public relations practice. The firm is headquartered in New York City, with auxiliary offices and affiliates in North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The agency has been owned by Omnicom Group since 1996. Ketchum merged with Düsseldorf-based Pleon in one of the industry's largest mergers in 2009. It has been led by President and CEO Mike Doyle since 2020.

Richard B. Berman is an American lawyer, public relations executive, and former lobbyist. Through his public affairs firm, Berman and Company, he ran several industry-funded, non-profit organizations such as the Center for Consumer Freedom, the Center for Union Facts, and the Employment Policies Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hill & Knowlton</span> Public relations consulting company

Hill & Knowlton is an American global public relations consulting company, headquartered in New York City. The firm has over 80 additional offices in more than 40 countries. The company was founded in Cleveland, in 1927 by John W. Hill and is now owned by the WPP Group.

Fenton Communications is a public relations firm that was founded by David Fenton in 1982. They describe themselves as the "largest public interest communications firm in the country", and maintain offices in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. The CEO of Fenton is Valarie De La Garza. She succeeded Ben Wyskida as CEO in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Hiltzik</span> American publicist (born 1972)

Matthew Hiltzik is an American lawyer and publicist. He is the founder of Hiltzik Strategies, which represents high-profile organizations and individuals such as various politicians and Hollywood figures. He has also occasionally been an executive producer on documentaries and written for magazines.

Eric B. Dezenhall is an American crisis management consultant, author, and founder of Washington D.C.-based public relations firm Dezenhall Resources. His aggressive tactics on behalf of his clients have made him both a target of criticism and a quoted pundit on crisis communications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burson (company)</span> American public relations firm

Burson is a multinational public relations and communications firm, headquartered in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Fenton</span>

David Fenton is the Chairman and co-founder of Fenton Communications, created with Robert Pollock in 1982 to promote issue-oriented public relations campaigns focusing on the environment, public health and human rights. In 1984 Fenton and Pollock split up, with Fenton maintaining the New York address and Pollock retaining the Washington location. Since founding the company, he pioneered the use of professional P.R. and advertising techniques by nonprofit public interest groups in the United States and around the world. The company has offices in New York, Washington, San Francisco and Los Angeles. In 1984, Fenton and Pollock split the company, with Fenton retaining the New York office and Pollock the Washington office.

Michael Harrison McCain is a Canadian business executive who serves as the executive chairman of Maple Leaf Foods. McCain formerly served as the president and chief executive officer from 1999 until 2023, and as chief operating officer of the company until the end of 1998. He is one of the wealthiest people in Canada and is currently listed on Canadian Business Magazine’s 100 richest Canadians.

Public relations is a term that refers to the management of communications between an entity such as an organization or a celebrity, and stakeholders, internal or external, such as investors, employees, communities, customers or clients. It is concerned with reputation building, and is often considered to be a subset to marketing, advertising, or corporate communications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qorvis</span>

Qorvis is an international Washington, D.C.-based public relations, advertising, media relations and crisis communications firm. It was acquired by the Publicis Groupe in January 2014, and became Qorvis/MSLGroup.On December 31, 2022, Qorvis was sold by Publicis to a group led by long-time Qorvis executive Matt J. Lauer.

Gemma Puglisi is an author, media expert, pundit and assistant professor of communication at American University in Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Glover Park Group</span> American communications consulting firm

The Glover Park Group was an American communications consulting firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. The company was founded in 2001 by former White House and Democratic campaign officials Carter Eskew, Michael Feldman, Joe Lockhart and Chip Smith. In January 2021, the firm merged with Finsbury and Hering Schuppener to form Finsbury Glover Hering, which itself later merged in December 2021 with New York City-based Sard Verbinnen & Co to form FGS Global.

<i>The Scarecrow</i> (2013 film) 2013 American film

The Scarecrow is a 2013 animated short film and advertisement by the American restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill. The film features Fiona Apple singing a cover version of "Pure Imagination", originally performed by Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vani Hari</span> American author and activist

Vani Deva Hari, who blogs as the Food Babe, is an American author, activist, and affiliate marketer who criticizes the food industry. She started the Food Babe blog in 2011, and it received over 54 million views in 2014.

References

  1. Grabowski, Gene (May 13, 2014). "The 5 apology rules that Sterling broke". CNN. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  2. Fernandes, Rio (February 12, 2016). "How 3 Crisis-Communications Experts Would Have Handled the Uproar at Mount St. Mary's". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  3. Pascoe, Bruce. "Arizona officials' statements 'right out of the playbook,' crisis experts say". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  4. "Public Relations Veteran Joins kGlobal". BusinessWire. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  5. "Gene Grabowski". American Conference Institute. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  6. "Public Relations Veteran Gene Grabowski Joins kglobal". BusinessWire. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  7. "Reporter Quits in Dispute Over Dukakis Story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  8. "The Washington Times Has History Of Hyped Stories, Shoddy Reporting And Failing To Correct Errors". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  9. "Who What When Where Why Be Objective? Politics and the Times". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  10. "The Chipotle Outbreak: How Food Companies Respond To An Unfolding Crisis". International Business Times. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  11. "Blue Bell Working to Get Past Listeria Scare". nbcdfw. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  12. "Pet-food Industry Too Slow: Crisis-PR Gurus". Advertising Age. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  13. "Gene Grabowski". IMDb. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  14. "Roger Clemens takes advice from newest PR man – Gene Grabowski". Daily News. New York. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  15. "Gene Grabowski". PR News Online. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  16. "Hasbro ads to say it had no lead-paint recalls". NBC News. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  17. "Gene Grabowski". PR News. Retrieved June 5, 2017.