NEW YORK, NY (August 27, 2013) — The Arthur W. Page Society has elected Gary Sheffer, VP of corporate communications and public affairs at General Electric, as chairman. His term begins January 1, 2014, when he will succeed Jon Iwata, senior vice president of marketing and communications at IBM.
“It’s an honor to be elected chairman of the Arthur W. Page Society,” Sheffer said. “I look forward to building on the progress we’ve made under the leadership of Jon Iwata and many others before him toward achievement of our mission, which is to strengthen the enterprise leadership role of the chief communications officer.
“We live in a challenging era of heightened expectations and radical transparency. Page is working with CCOs to build public trust for their organizations through corporate character and authentic advocacy.”
In his role at GE, Sheffer oversees external and internal communications and provides strategic communications advice to GE executives on a full range of corporate reputation issues. In his public affairs role, Sheffer works with external groups and individuals to foster understanding of GE policies and businesses.
Sheffer has been a member of the Page Society since 2006 and is currently a trustee and a member of the Executive Committee. He has been instrumental in the Thought Leadership C-Suite Workstream, serving as co-chair for 2012-2013. He also serves as Professional Development Committee co-chair for 2012-13. During this time, he has worked with Page member Tom Martin to oversee the feasibility, development, and launch of Page Up, a new membership organization for Page members’ most senior staff leaders. He also served as chair of the 2011 Page Annual Conference.
“In recent years, the Arthur W. Page Society has emerged as one of the pre-eminent thought leaders among the world’s professional communications organizations,” Iwata said. “We have done so by helping our members and the broader profession to understand emergent phenomena and to anticipate what our role as CCOs could be.
“Gary is one of the most respected leaders in our profession and a driving force for innovation within Page, notably his work to establish Page Up. He will be a terrific chairman. Our future is in very good hands.”
Sheffer joined GE in 1999 after 17 years in journalism and government communications, including serving as a press aide to two New York governors. Before working in government, he was a reporter and editor at several newspapers winning several awards for his reporting.
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 enterprise leadership role of chief communications officers. For more information please visit www.awpagesociety.com.
For more information contact:
Dan Strouhal
212-400-7959 x102 dstrouhal@awpagesociety.com
Erica Iacono
646-935-3956 erica.iacono@ketchum.com