Manager, Communications
Innovations (IUME)
Total years of experience :43 years, 10 Months
Communications manager for events organization company in Doha. Seconded to College of the North Atlantic - Qatar, to consult on a year of public relations and communications efforts relating to the college's celebration of its 10th anniversary. Responsibilities included the writing and creation of a 10th anniversary commemorative book, the organization of five major events and related communications, including press coverage and media relations, VIP communications, collateral produced for events, and all planning relating to the year's slate of activities.
Deputy Director of the Qatar Foundation account for Grayling, embedded in the QF Communication Directorate. Responsibilities include communication strategy, QF Speakers Bureau, communications planning and message development, crisis communicatoins, media analysis, content writing, Arabic language support, partnership coordination, social media delivery and internal communications, with key responsibility for internal communications activities and QF Speakers Bureau.
Consultant to Group Communications Department of leading Middle Eastern telecommunications company. Focus on external and Internal communications and branding. Produce bi-monthly company magazine, Al Tawasul, all internal messaging, and consult on discreet projects such as annual report and CSR report; training, employee engagement and trade show materials and displays; executive speeches; advertorials; press releases; and company communications strategy.
Hired in August 2008 by leading retail franchiser in Kuwait to develop Internal Communications department for 15, 000-employee organization. As part of newly established Corporate Communications department, created plans for an internal magazine, an internal newsletter, rebranding of the company’s web and intranet sites, and re-branding various employee relations programs. Unfortunately, entire department was laid off in April of 2009 as a cost-cutting effort.
AECOM/CSA, Ltd. is one of the largest government contractors to the U.S. military in Kuwait. Recruited to create an Internal Communications department and resulting products for a company that had grown from 500 employees in 1999 to over 3, 500 by 2005. Assessed current internal practices. Recommended/implemented products and services to direct and streamline executive messages, create new pathways of communication and improve employee life.
In three-year period, with growth to 8, 000 employees, created monthly magazine, The Desert Eagle; weekly newsletter, The Wing; revised company’s web site to better support recruitment; issued manager’s orientation handbook, Toolkit for Leadership, updated on a quarterly basis; and provided support communications for 35 members of senior management team.
Commended for performance by CEO of CSA, Ltd. as well as President of AECOM Government Services.
Owner, Betsy Richman Public Relations - Consultancy
1993 - 2005 Betsy Richman Public Relations, South Pasadena, California, USA
Founded BRPR in 1993. Served corporate clients with the aim of helping to assess, reformulate and implement current and innovative practices to improve company image, client/partner bases, employee retention, and wider public knowledge of a company’s mission and products.
Skills & Services
Internal communications; Corporate communications strategy formulation; Branding; Design and production of marketing/communication programs; Community relations; Media relations; Event organization; Exhibit organization; Speechwriting; Copywriting; and Promotional program design and implementation.
Partial Client List
American Licorice Company; Disney Consumer Products; Disney Art Editions Animation Exhibit; Disney Magazine; Glendale Memorial Hospital; Kaiser Permanente Hospital; Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; Paramount Cards; Pasadena Unified School District; South Pasadena Unified School District; Pasadena City College; Pasadena Educational Foundation; The Robert Allen Group; and Warner Brothers Recreation, Inc.
14-year career with the Walt Disney Company is cornerstone of communications experience. Managed Communications Department at Walt Disney Imagineering, the Disney theme park design and engineering subsidiary. Assisted Disney leadership to maintain a workforce of 2, 500+ across the country and around the world informed and current with corporate activities, priorities and projects during a period of rapid expansion from 1988 to 1993.
Managed a staff of eight public relations, copywriting, graphic design and administrative professionals. Responsibilities varied from organization of Walt Disney Imagineering company-wide press events to creation of a weekly newsletter, quarterly magazine and quarterly video “broadcasts.” Organized numerous community programs and events.
3.5 GPA
