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When a crisis looms, why are some companies hit so badly with massive negative media coverage, sharp stock drop off, and ruined corporate reputations, while others seem to have a vast reservoir of good will that carries them through a crisis to recover and rebuild corporate reputation?

Whether the issue is Wikileaks, oil spills, viral videos or product recalls, organizations of all kinds are facing a rapidly growing need for quick and effective response to crises, rumours and uncertainty. This challenge can assume monumental proportions in a context of an unstable policy environment, mergers and acquisitions, ongoing restructuring and the slashing of corporate budgets.

This series of four webinars examines recent damaging cases and best new practices in recuring reputation risk and riding out crises. Featuring corporate communications specialists, the webinars will present a clear picture of how issues and crises can affect any organization, and how corporate culture, management style and effective issues management practices can sink it or save it.

Webinar 1
February 16, 2011 – 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Corporate cultural strategies for preventing and surviving crises

What kind of corporate culture helps an organization avoid or prevent crises? Rhonda O’Gallagher, Executive Director of Corporate Communications at Pfizer Canada Inc. is no stranger to crisis, restructuring and other corporate reputation issues. In this session, she looks at the effect of an organization’s culture – ethical, legal, leadership style and communicational – on the prevention of crises in the first place, survival through a crisis or major change, and the rapidity of adjustment afterwards.

Speaker:
Rhonda O’Gallagher,
Executive Director, Corporate Communications, Pfizer Canada Inc.

Rhonda is Pfizer Canada's Executive Director of Corporate Communications. As Executive Director, Rhonda is a member of Pfizer's Canadian senior management team and is responsible for leading Pfizer's Canadian Corporate Communications division which includes a team of 14 communications professionals who specialize in media relations, product/brand PR, crisis management, external communications and branding, internal communications and change management.

Rhonda has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 15 years and has been with Pfizer Canada since 2001, where she held various senior positions within the Communications function.

Rhonda's broad range of corporate and healthcare communications experience was also developed while working as Director of Communications for Novartis Pharma Canada; National Director of Communications for The Kidney Foundation of Canada and as a Communications Manager for Air Canada.

A graduate of Concordia University and its School of Community and Public Affairs, Rhonda has also devoted time to a number of volunteer community activities, including communications advisor to Leave Out Violence (LOVE); The Kidney Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society's Daffodil Ball Committee.

For more information
Gs.conted [at] mcgill.ca

/conted/prodep/webinar/