Gary Sheffer, VP, Corporate Communications & Public Affairs, General Electric
Gary Sheffer, who has been at GE for 14 years, has been one or PR's most influential proponents of corporate transparency—before and after the 2008 financial collapse. Earlier this year, the Arthur W. Page Society elected Mr. Sheffer chairman of the organization, no doubt in recognition of his efforts behind "GE Works," the CSR- and transparency-focused brand theme he developed for GE after the 2008 downturn.
Mr. Sheffer said when accepting the chairman role at Page, "We live in a challenging era of heightened expectations and radical transparency." He will be sharing lessons from his success at GE with other chief communications officer seeking to build public trust for their organizations.
At GE he oversees external and internal communications and provides strategic communications advice to GE executives on a full range of corporate reputation issues. In the public affairs role, Mr. Sheffer works with stakeholders to foster understanding of GE.
Mr. Sheffer joined GE in 1999 after 17 years in journalism and government communications. For 10 years, he served as a press aide to two New York governors, and helped direct communications strategies for several statewide political campaigns.