Communications professionals deserve better than generic advice and inaccessible training.
The Communications Board® was founded to provide senior-level communications expertise, practical training, and original research to the people responsible for how leaders and organizations communicate.
Why We Built The Communications Board
I spent more than 20 years working in leadership and executive communications. Over that time, I kept seeing the same problems.
Communications teams were asked to advise CEOs, lead organizational change efforts, manage reputational issues, communicate with employees, and issue company responses. During healthy economic periods, those teams were often stretched thin. And during downturns, communications positions were often among those facing budget and staffing pressure.
When organizations I worked for brought in outside help, I saw another problem. A company could hire an agency for senior expertise and executive communications, then discover that much of the day-to-day work had been assigned to a junior team.
And too much communications advice sounded interchangeable.
Build trust. Be authentic. Increase visibility. Tell your story.
Those aren't necessarily bad principles. But they aren't enough when a CEO has to address employees after a major acquisition or restructuring, a communications leader has to decide whether an executive should respond publicly to an issue, or a leadership team needs to determine what it wants to be known for.
We Saw the Same Problem in Communications Education
Where you live shouldn't determine what you can learn.
For years, I have taught communications at the university level and led professional development programs through PRSA and other nonprofit professional organizations. I saw another gap.
Some communications professionals simply did not live near universities, associations, or major markets offering specialized communications education. While online programs expanded access, the price and quality varied widely. A professional shouldn't need to live in Washington, New York, Chicago, or another major market, or spend thousands of dollars, to learn from experienced practitioners.
There was also a growing gap between what communicators were being taught and what they were being asked to handle at work.
Communications professionals increasingly encounter questions involving regulation, communications law and policy, privacy, ethics, artificial intelligence, stakeholder expectations, internal communications, and organizational change. Yet many professional development and higher education programs remained focused on a narrower communications toolkit.
So, in 2020, We Built Something Different
Senior expertise shouldn't be reserved for organizations with senior-agency budgets.
In 2020, my wife and I founded The Communications Board around that idea. And neither should professional development be reserved for people who live in the right city or can afford the right program.
We created The Communications Board to make experienced counsel and practical education more accessible to business leaders, communications professionals, and organizations.
What began with executive education has grown into a broader platform for leadership communications, CEO branding, executive communications, and the decisions that shape how leaders are understood.
What We Believe
Senior work deserves senior expertise.
Leaders need ideas, not just content.
Visibility isn't the same as influence.
Communications advice should survive contact with the real world.
Access to expertise shouldn't depend on geography.
OUR WORK
CEO BRANDING AND EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
CEO BRANDING
LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
EXECUTIVE INSIGHTS
Our work is led by a network of seasoned executive communications advisors with firsthand experience supporting CEOs and Boards. We deliver practical, experience-based guidance designed to help you make informed decisions and execute with confidence—not theory, templates, or junior-level perspectives.