BOSTON, MA—September 30, 2013—Maril MacDonald has been selected as the recipient of the Arthur W. Page Society's 2013 Distinguished Service Award. MacDonald is CEO and founder of Gagen MacDonald, a leading strategy execution and change leadership firm, as well as CEO of Son&Sons, a branding and identity firm that helps companies define and express their corporate character through truth, beauty and impact.
The Distinguished Service Award is presented to individuals who have devoted themselves to services that help build and nurture the profession. MacDonald has always been an advocate for furthering the role of communication in business. She served as chairman of the Page Society from 2008-09. In 2011, MacDonald founded and launched Let Go & Lead, an online community of C-Suite executives and global thought leaders dedicated to driving new philosophies and strategies for leadership.
“Few in our profession have had a more positive influence on corporate communications than Maril MacDonald, as a chief communications officer, founder of a great agency, and leader in the Page Society and the Institute for Public Relations," said Jon Iwata, senior vice president, Marketing and Communications, IBM and chairman of the Arthur W. Page Society. “Indeed, as chair of the Page Society, her determination and vision gave birth to two of our most important programs today – in thought leadership and professional development."
MacDonald was presented with the Distinguished Service Award on September 29 at the 30th Annual Conference of the Page Society, held in Boston. For more information, please visit www.awpagesociety.com.
Previous Distinguished Service Award winners include:
- 2012: Kim Hunter, Lagrant Communications
- 2011: Tom Martin, College of Charleston
- 2010: Peter Debreceney, Gagen MacDonald
- 2009: E. Bruce Harrison, EnviroComm International
- 2008: James E. Grunig, University of Maryland
- 2007: Donald K. Wright, Boston University
- 2006: Ron Culp, Ketchum
- 2004: John M. Reed, Consultants in Public Relations SA
- 2003: Ann H. Barkelew, Fleishman-Hillard
- 2002: John W. (Jack) Felton, Institute for Public Relations
- 2001: Patrick J. Jackson; Jackson, Jackson & Wagner
- 2000: Betsy Plank, Betsy Plank Public Relations
About the Distinguished Service Award
The Distinguished Service Award was created to honor an individual who has helped strengthen the role of public relations in business and society. Successful candidates have improved the overall value and effectiveness of the profession through service, writing, research, speaking or teaching. The recipients of this award have devoted themselves to services that help build and nurture the profession, advance the understanding, practice or teaching of public relations and corporate communications and strengthen the role of public relations in our society. The Page Society congratulates the recipient of the 2013 Distinguished Service Award.
About the Arthur W. Page Society
The Arthur W. Page Society is a professional association for senior public relations and corporate communications executives who seek to enrich and strengthen their profession. Membership consists primarily of chief communications officers of Fortune 500 corporations, the CEOs of the world's largest public relations agencies and leading academics from the nation's top business and communications schools. The Page Society is dedicated to strengthening the management policy role of chief public relations officers. For more information please visit www.awpagesociety.com.
For more information contact:
Dan Strouhal
212-400-7959 x102 dstrouhal@awpagesociety.com