Jon Harmon
Over a 30-plus-year career, Jon Harmon has developed deep experience in nearly every aspect of strategic corporate public relations, including issues management, media relations, messaging and internal communications. His expertise in crisis management and crisis communications is particularly
noteworthy.
He led crisis media relations through an epic corporate crisis and later authored a book about it—FEEDING FRENZY: Trial Lawyers, the media, politicians and corporate adversaries: Inside the Ford-Firestone crisis. Later, he joined an industrial company to lead Communications while helping the senior team successfully navigate a protracted financial reporting crisis that had caused it to be removed from the NYSE. In still another role, he helped lead a global professional services company’s crisis readiness with business continuity planning, especially in the event of a major data breach.
Now, as a consultant based in Chicago, Jon advises CEOs and mentors their Communications leaders to prepare for and weather storms. Together, they:
• Conduct company-wide vulnerability assessments
• Develop strategic communications plans to support the success of the enterprise business strategy even in very challenging environments
• Develop and execute crisis communications plans that play an integral role in the company successfully managing through existential crises
• Identify spokespeople and media train them in advance of a crisis
• Develop positive relationships with key journalists covering their industry