Winner: Eliot Hoff
Senior Vice President, APCO Worldwide
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Eliot Hoff has a talent for staying cool in crisis, and for transforming one-off projects into significant client relationships. When one of the world’s largest food manufacturers required a crisis communications campaign to head off H1N1 virus fears, Hoff led a team of APCO consultants in the development and execution of a multi-faceted global effort to restore the client’s reputation.
Hoff is completely available to his clients 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He builds flexible crisis teams that are able to quickly change direction and nimbly adapt as the crisis unfolds. Some people run from conflict and crisis—Hoff thrives on the unpredictability of operating in a crisis situation. —Jessica Clegg
How to avoid a crisis plan blind spot: “Make sure that all stakeholders and audiences are considered in the planning. There are the obvious stakeholders—possibly employees, customers and investors—but there are also members of Congress, local officials, regulators and competitors to consider.”
Honorable Mentions:
Jason Maloni SVP, Levick Strategic Communications (DC)
When Heartland Payment Systems suffered a data breach, Jason Maloni helped turn a crisis into an advocacy opportunity for better encryption standards.
Thomas J. Rozycki, Jr., SVP, CJP Communications
Thomas J. Rozycki summoned his vast crisis experience to establish a solid communication framework around a Somali pirate hijacking.
Michelle Russo, SVP, Corporate Affairs & Communications, Discovery Communications
Michelle Russo showed consummate leadership guiding Discovery through a terrible hostage in the summer of 2010 with careful, direct messages.