General John Allen to Headline National Summit on Strategic Communications on April 22 in Washington DC

WASHINGTON, March 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- One of America's top military commanders, Marine General John Allen, will deliver the opening keynote at the 4th National Summit on Strategic Communications on April 22-23 in Washington DC when leaders and CEOs from corporate, military and government communications, public relations and public affairs assemble to share best practices and identify and discuss strategies which enhance engagement.

General Allen will speak about the fundamental values and enabling strategies that best equip leaders and organizations to compete successfully in today's complicated world – communicating across geographies and cultures in an often contentious environment crowded with new media.

A complete agenda, faculty and registration information is available at www.strategicsummit.com. The conference venue is the Washington Plaza Hotel in Washington DC.

General Allen led forces in Afghanistan for 19 months, from mid-2011 through February 2013. Prior to that, General Allen was deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command. He is retiring after a distinguished career in the U.S. Marines.

"Research among CEOs suggests that military training offers an early opportunity for professionals to acquire hands-on leadership experience that cannot be found in the corporate world," said Robert Grupp, Summit Director and chair of the non-profit Strategic Communications Leadership Initiative. "We are delighted to have this four-star general join faculty at our fourth Strategic Summit to provide insights that explain why skills learned in military enhance success in corporate life."

The unique annual Strategic Summit aims its program at the intersection of corporate communications, military public affairs and government relations. The event typically draws 100 senior professionals who work in one of these sectors and in non-governmental organizations and academics.

Other speakers featured on the April 22-23 agenda include:

• John Suttle, SVP Communications, BAE Systems
• Rear Admiral John Kirby , Chief of Information, US NAVY
• Robert T. Hastings, SVP Communications and Government Affairs, BELL HELICOPTER
• James Whaley , SVP Communications and Marketing, SIEMENS
• Diane Melley , VP Citizenship Initiatives, IBM CORPORATION
• Mark Laity , Chief, Strategic Communications, SUPREME HDQRS ALLIED POWERS IN EUROPE
• Marcia Bullard , Board Chair, AMERICA'S CHARITIES
• David Albritton , VP & Chief Communications Officer, ITT EXCELIS
• Rayid Ghani, former Chief Scientist for Data Analytics, OBAMA 2012 CAMPAIGN
• Diane Melley, VP Global Citizenship Initiatives, IBM

Summit sponsors include, BAE Systems, Inc., Cubic Corporation, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Siemens, Bell Helicopter, Bulletin News and TVEyes. Media Partners include O'Dwyer PR.

ABOUT THE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE ("The SCLI")

The SCLI is a non-profit organization established to advance the profession by providing thought leadership and setting standards for practicing strategic communications. The SCLI connects a community of senior executives, communications directors and public affairs officers from corporations, the military, government agencies and other non-profit organizations and NGOs. With an active volunteer Board of Advisors, the SCLI organizes the annual National Summit on Strategic Communications and conducts interactive programs, seminars and training to share knowledge and expertise within the professional community. www.thescli.org

For Further Information

Robert W. Grupp
Summit Director
+1-484-557-8401
[email protected]

SOURCE National Summit on Strategic Communications