Patrick Ford is president and chief executive officer of Burson-Marsteller, USA. As a public affairs and corporate communications specialist with more than 25 years of experience, he has consulted with a wide range of clients on reputation management, issues and crisis communications, ally development, corporate and CEO positioning, and media relations.
Since joining Burson-Marsteller in 1989, Pat served as a senior managing director in Burson-Marsteller's Public Affairs Practice before being appointed US Corporate Practice chairman in October 2003, rising to global chairman in January 2005. He became president of US operations in February 2006.
His current and recent client list includes: Allianz Life, Merrill Lynch, Nestle Waters North America, Royal Dutch Shell, and the US Postal Service.
Before joining Burson-Marsteller, Pat served as vice president for public affairs at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington, DC. Before AEI, he was a public affairs specialist at Wagner & Baroody, for which he managed the Media Operations Center at the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas. Pat began his career as a reporter for The Jersey Journal in Jersey City, NJ. He also served as a special New Jersey correspondent for Reuters.
Pat is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Public Relations and the Agency Management Committee of the Council of PR Firms, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, a nonprofit, nonpartisan foundation that identifies and supports effective grassroots organizations to assist low-income Americans in solving critical problems in their communities. |