The brand image is strongly created through the prism of the CEO behind it. It is his business values, management style, media activity that can indeed build the reputation of an organization/company.
CEO IMAGE VS BRAND
Probably not every CEO has a chance to be the media face of his company, but many of them can do it, through training and working out internal blockers, become quite proficient communicators. Understanding the techniques that accompany public speaking, the specifics of press conferences or meetings with stock analysts, working with the media in general, the art of building concise messages and placing messages about the company, will definitely help an inexperienced CEO find his way in the media galaxy.
The confidence is gained over time, as experiences are gained in various situations and media relations, especially demanding are appearances on television or radio. If a certain CEO, despite working with coaches, still doesn’t feel up to speaking in the high-speed media, it’s definitely worth it for him to represent the organization in the print press or online editions. We are all realizing that lack of communication, is also communication and a signal sent to the environment.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION – THE ROLE OF THE CEO
CEOs these days are a very important part of a brand’s communication system with stakeholders, both externally, but especially internally. Good leaders understand this, and the role of the CEO as a communicator will grow very significantly in the coming years, under situations of normal business operation, let alone crises.
Fortune 500 CEOs in their listings cite that less than 10% of those on the list are active on social media. CEOs are reluctant to contribute on these channels, and this attitude, with the speed with information spreads these days, and how media consumption habits have changed on the other hand, is a mistake, or at least a huge missed opportunity.
CEO’S REPUTATION AND ITS IMPACT
It is worth remembering that the most frequently cited elements for building a company’s reputation are the quality of services and products, financial performance, the industry in which it operates, ethical conduct, the opinion of its employees and the image of its CEO. His recognizable, good reputation transfers positive associations directly to the brand he represents. The values he holds in business, which he communicates about, how he conducts himself in his relations with other companies, what he believes in, are transferred to the organization on the basis of a halo effect.
CEO unpredictability in the media can often cause more trouble than good. An example is the past statements of Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary, which significantly negatively affected brand perception and stock market performance. If we at least look at the rankings of CEOs with the best reputations, which have been conducted for years, it is in vain to look for scandalmongers or people who are reluctant to cooperate with the media. All the people there are very aware of the opinion-forming role of the media, as well as of their position and the resulting duty to represent the company. Individuals such as Michael Dell, David Holl, Emmanuel Faber, and Ben van Beurden have consistently built their reputations over the years by working in partnership, openly and honestly with the media.
A common danger may be the CEO’s own attitude to the media and journalists, e.g. saying that he won’t meet with them because they don’t know the business, are sometimes unprepared for
