On March 3, the Public Relations Society of America, the largest professional member organization for PR practitioners in the United States, appointed Matthew Marcial as its new CEO.
One of Marcial's main priorities is to broaden PRSA’s reach and position organization as a resource not just for PR practitioners, but other business leaders who can benefit from professional communications principles.
Marcial previously served as CEO of the National Association of College Auxiliary Services, and held executive roles with The Institute of Internal Auditors, Meeting Professionals International, NAFA Fleet Management Association and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.
PRNEWS sat down with Marcial to get to know him, as well as learn about some of the projects and goals the new CEO has in the works for PRSA.
PRNEWS: Can you share key aspects of your professional journey that prepared you for the role of CEO at PRSA?
Matthew Marcial, CEO, PRSA: [Early in my career] I got bit by the hospitality bug and found my love of working with people. Many things that I learned in hospitality translated to the association space, like anticipating guests’ needs. A lot of that is closely tied to how we serve our members and anticipating our members’ needs.
Associations opened my eyes to the many different business paths and operational areas. I’ve been lucky to have had the opportunity to touch and lead several of those areas.
PRNEWS: What are your primary goals for PRSA in the next few years?
Marcial: Being able to move the needle on broadening PRSA’s reach. How are we capturing more broad-based marketing professionals to what we’re doing and also business professionals?
We are the leaders in business communications and communications around the globe. We’ve got all the expertise. So how can we leverage that to train folks who may not be in the communications space, but need what our members offer? Those are opportunities for us.
More specifically, I want to develop KPIs (key performance indicators) to measure our membership growth, member engagement, and non-member engagement, and see how we’re making progress.
On the financial side, it’s important that we’re sustainable into the future. So, looking at our expenses, our revenue will help us grow as an organization well into the future.
PRNEWS: How do you plan to address the diverse needs of those PRSA members—from students to seasoned professionals—while introducing or expanding initiatives that support their continuous learning and development?
Marcial: First and foremost, my goal is to understand what the unique needs and challenges are for our various member segments, and this will inform our future programming and content development strategy. I believe it's important to hear from as many of our different stakeholder groups as possible, and I'd like to conduct a member needs survey to better understand where there may be gaps in the learning opportunities and resources that we're currently providing.
My vision is for us to develop a career roadmap that would highlight relevant PRSA learning opportunities and resources that are personalized for every industry segment and level, from students to executives. I also see a great opportunity for PRSA to leverage our expertise in business communications to be the global leader of training in this area across all professional industries.
PRNEWS: How do you see PRSA adapting its educational offerings to meet the evolving demands of the PR industry, including leveraging technological advancements to benefit its members?
Marcial: We need to be nimble in addressing the fast pace of change that's impacting everyone in our industry, and that could mean us leaving space during our programs for facilitated discussion around hot topics or emerging trends that may not have even been in play when we were first developing the program.
I also see us delivering content in new and different formats to meet the unique needs and learning styles of today's members. As it relates to advancements in technology, we'll continue to prepare our members for the future with training to harness new technologies while also balancing considerations related to ethics and compliance.
PRNEWS: Since PRSA has voiced its commitment to DEI, how do you plan to advance DEI initiatives within PRSA and the broader public relations field?
Marcial: PRSA's commitment to DEI is core to our organization's beliefs and will continue to be incorporated in everything we do. We plan to advance these initiatives by working closely with our volunteers and partners to continue educating our community and building awareness. I'd also like to see us develop tangible solutions and resources that can be applied to impact the betterment of public relations, business and society.
PRNEWS: What motivates you personally in your professional endeavors, and how do you plan to inspire the same passion in others within PRSA?
Marcial: One of the things that I love about working with associations is that I continue to be inspired and motivated by the passion of the members and volunteer community. I'm personally motivated by the satisfaction and engagement of our members, and by helping to drive growth in the membership community. I'm looking forward to sharing my vision for how I see PRSA transforming in the coming years, and I hope that inspires others in the industry to join us and also consider volunteering, which I'm certain they will find to be a rewarding experience both personally and professionally.