Panelist: Peter Prodromou

President, Racepoint Global

As president of Racepoint Global, Peter is responsible for oversight of the company’s strategic direction and operations. A seasoned, forward-thinking entrepreneur and veteran of the communications industry, Peter oversaw the integration of sister agencies Racepoint Group and Digital Influence Group into a fully integrated, global marketing services company offering the right mix of services and a proprietary technology influencer engine that ignites stakeholder engagement.

Peter has deep experience working with leading Fortune 500 and Global 1000 brands including AT&T, IBM, Fujitsu, Phillips, Thermo Fisher, Sybase and Kaiser-Permanente.  Prior to assuming leadership of Racepoint Global, Peter was the company’s Chief Global Accounts Officer, leading development and implementation of global strategy and account services with each of the company’s regional Managing Directors.  Before that, Peter built the company’s public affairs and country practice, including its office in Washington DC.  In this role, Peter worked with heads of governments and heads of state throughout Africa, the Middle East and Asia to promote their agendas with key stakeholder groups. He has extensive local public affairs experience, helping win approval for development of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and the redevelopment of the Knightville business district in Southern Maine. Peter was also a key visionary of Racepoint Global’s FieldFacts stakeholder identification and campaign management technology platform.

Prior to joining Racepoint Global at its founding, Peter was a senior vice president at Weber Shandwick Worldwide, where he managed communications programs for several leading technology brands. Previously, he was a partner in the advertising agency, Cosmopoulos Crowley and Daly.

Peter is a graduate of Boston University. He serves on non-profit boards in the education sector. He has spoken and written extensively on the role of social media in the construct of an overarching communication strategy.

 Panelist: Mark McClennan, APR

PRSA National Chair Elect

Mark W. McClennan, APR combines strategic communications counsel with a relentless drive for excellence to help MSLGROUP’s clients succeed in leveraging public relations to realize their business objectives. He works with clients to determine overall messaging and communications strategy, while remaining actively engaged with the media, bloggers and analysts. He regularly advises clients on social media strategies and crisis management, particularly social media in regulated industries.

In his more than 19 years at MSLGROUP, Mark has led teams in a variety of industries, including consumer technology, financial services, and healthcare. He heads the Boston office’s social media practice and consumer tech group.  He is a part of MSLGROUP’s North American Digital Executive team and Global Insights Executive Team.

Mark has worked with companies ranging from venture-funded start-ups to large public companies, including Ancestry.com, BillMeLater/PayPal, LifeLock, Samsung, Epocrates, LivingSocial and Filip Technologies. He has guided companies through IPOs and acquisitions. He has coordinated successful public relations campaigns for companies in Europe and Asia.

Mark’s teams have been recognized with more than 45 awards for excellence in public relations, including five Silver Anvils (the PR industry Oscars) and five Silver Anvil Awards of Excellence in the past few years for his teams’ work. His teams have been recognized with four Sabre Awards, four Bulldog awards and many others.

Mark has a B.A. in public relations and political science from the S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University. He is a frequent blogger and published writer on public relations, measurement, ethics and social media. He has spoken at industry conferences and universities on ethics and social media, measurement and the evolution of public relations. Mark is the 2015 National Chair-Elect for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and drove the creation of the PRSA Ethics app. In his spare time, he has done stand-up comedy in clubs across the country.

Twitter: @mcclennan

Professor Stephen Quigley, APR

Boston University