Yesterday, I sat down with Jess Ruderman, associate news editor at PRWeek, at the PRWeek Conference in Chicago to reflect on my 30 years as CEO of Edelman. I took over from my father, Dan, in 1996 in the wake of his bout with prostate cancer. We stood seventh in the rankings with $85 million in revenue, well behind market leaders Burson and Hill & Knowlton, also trailing such well-known agencies as Ketchum, Porter, MSL and Fleishman. I wanted to reinforce the founding principles of the firm: relentless commitment to clients, entrepreneurial behavior and family ownership. But I knew we could not stand still as a marketing PR firm. We had to anticipate the future and make some big bets. I had big shoes to fill given that my father was not only the founder but the inventor of the media tour and founder of modern marketing PR.
Over the past 30 years, we have navigated four major crises: the dot-com crash, 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis and COVID. The four-part strategy my father and I established early on helped position us to weather those challenges and emerge stronger. We set out to build our global network, expanding into China, Korea, Brussels, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Russia, Poland, Indonesia, Vietnam and Colombia. We wanted to become a bigger player in corporate communications, pioneering litigation PR, winning major clients such as Walmart and GE, and establishing ourselves as leaders in managing high-profile crises. We recognized the opportunity in digital as early as 1996, with the launch of the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line online. Most importantly, we were determined to remain independent, rejecting offers from several holding companies to preserve the flexibility to expand into areas traditionally dominated by advertising agencies.
The competitive landscape has changed dramatically. Of the top 10 PR firms a decade ago, only five remain, while private equity-backed financial communications and public affairs firms now account for half of the top 10. More than a decade ago, Edelman made the strategic decision to become a broader communications firm, investing in creative, strategy, research, experiential and creator capabilities, recognizing that the future of communications would increasingly be shaped by employee and news creators. Today, 25 percent of our employees work outside traditional PR, and we compete directly with advertising agencies, digital firms and consultancies for client budgets. Our relationships now extend across the C-suite, from the CCO and CMO to the CEO.
The Edelman Trust Barometer, launched in 2000, is my proudest accomplishment as CEO. We set out to create intellectual property that could stand alongside the research of leading management consultancies such as McKinsey, grounded in our belief that trust is a driving force in society. Events from Enron and the Iraq War to the global financial crisis, the rise of populism and COVID have reinforced that conviction. I am particularly proud of our work during COVID, when we regularly briefed clients and employees on trust in employers, public health systems and experts. It is surreal to see the Barometer regularly cited in publications such as TIME, The Economist, and Financial Times, referenced CEO shareholder letters, sited in more than 1,600 peer reviewed scholarly articles, and now informing a December forum at the Obama Presidential Center.
I am proud that during my tenure as CEO, we have helped move public relations from publicity to action. From CVS removing cigarettes from its shelves and rebuilding Lower Manhattan after 9/11 to REI’s #OptOutside, Ajinomoto’s campaign to restore MSG’s reputation, DP World’s Move to -15° to reduce shipping emissions, and AstraZeneca’s Up the Antibodies campaign with Jeff Bridges to protect immunocompromised patients from COVID, our work has driven meaningful business and societal change.
Jess Ruderman asked me about succession. I told her the next CEO must be globally minded, equally strong in brand and reputation, and understand our family tradition of being the underdog against larger, better-financed competitors. I also said that I would like my daughters to succeed me, just as I succeeded my father.
What I didn't get to say is what's truly in my heart: I have one more mountain to climb. Our next chapter will be built on the Chicago Principles, positioning Edelman as the Trust Company at a time when disinformation and AI-generated content make trust more valuable than ever. We will be both global and local, recognizing that culture, creators and influence increasingly reside in local markets, and that rising nationalism requires companies to adopt a more poly-national approach. We will work from the bottom up, reaching people directly as authority becomes more dispersed and relationships become increasingly important. And we will use AI to drive effectiveness, not simply efficiency. Through our Earned Growth Engine and proprietary capabilities, including Archie AI, Culture Engine and GEOsight, we intend to make earned and owned media more measurable and predictable, influencing AI search results and ultimately driving sales.
There was nothing inevitable about Edelman’s success. We have defied industry logic by remaining independent, refusing private equity financing and continually innovating for long-standing clients such as Microsoft, Starbucks, J&J, AstraZeneca, Mars, PepsiCo, Unilever, and Samsung. I am deeply grateful for the loyalty and commitment of longtime colleagues including Matt Harrington, Lisa Sepulveda, Tristan Roy, Rakesh Thukral, Justin Blake, and Vic Malanga. Other senior leaders have been instrumental in our success over the past 30 years, including David Brain, Alan VanderMolen, Ed Williams, Nancy Ruschienski, and the incomparable Pam Talbot. I am equally fortunate to have the unwavering support of my siblings, John and Renee, and the next generation of our family, my talented, hardworking daughters Margot, Tory and Amanda, whom I count on to carry forward our tradition of hustle and excellence and my father’s belief that “it is great to be the largest firm, but we must always strive to be the best firm.”
The adventure continues!
