Ben Trounson

Mixing Board

Invite-only community of communications and marketing leaders, elevating the business impact of the functions, sharing expertise, and providing mentorship.

Member

Daikin U.S. Corporation

VP, Head of Corporate Communications

Verizon

VP, Head of Global Communications, Verizon Business

Bristol Myers Squibb

VP, Head of International Corporate Affairs

Tata Consultancy Services

Head of Global Markets Corporate Communications

Head of North American Corporate Communications

Finn Partners

Partner, Technology Practice

Hill & Knowlton

SVP, Director of NYC Marketing Communications Practice

Ketchum

VP, Client Service Director

Taylor Global

Account Director

Kodora Communications

Media Manager

VP, Global Corporate Communications with 20+ years of experience leading corporate affairs across internal, external, executive, and crisis communications strategies. Deploying diverse global brand plans, thought leadership campaigns, employee culture and change initiatives, product GTMs, and partner programs for Verizon, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Tata Consultancy Services, among others. A team builder and mentor, and C-suite advisor, creating data-led strategies to transform business impact and drive enterprise collaboration, engagement, advocacy, reputation, and revenue.

Vice President of Communications, Verizon Business

Time with family is so important. I spent last week in England visiting my father on the coast of Cornwall near Land's End.  

We all work hard, but need to prioritize some time to make more memories. I enjoyed the basics. Walks across the beach cliffsides, board games, ancient pubs, Cornish pasties (yum), and lots of rain... 

But more than anything, just time talking with my father. I heard stories about his childhood and family history that I had never heard before... after all these years. You don't get these moments until you slow down and disconnect, even for a day or two. 

With Thanksgiving this week, I'm wishing all U.S. friends and colleagues a wonderful time with their families. Try finding some quality 1-1 time with your parents or grandparents and ask about their childhood. You might hear a few amazing stories for the first time, and be able to pass them on!

#family #history #storytelling

VP & Global Head of Corporate Communications | Reputation & Issues Management Expert | Former Verizon, National Grid, TCS | C-Suite Advisor | Driving Trusted Brands & Teams

I had a blast at the Axios Communicators Live NYC event last night. 

A few quick highlights from the main stage sessions:

1. Anthropic's Sasha de Marigny was refreshingly transparent: they’re not entirely “Claudifying” comms; they’re hiring an AI ops role to support strategic humans.

2. Ray Day, APR of Allison Worldwide noted two-thirds of comms leaders work with CEOs on major decisions. As a profession, we need to consistently add value and demonstrate business acumen and impact to increase these numbers! 

3. Meridith Webster of Estée Lauder stated that corporate narrative builds trust, and brand activations make them human. Strong comms blends both.

Cheers to Eleanor Hawkins and Hope King for hosting.  
 
Thanks to Amanda Coffee and Joanie Sanders for such a fun and packed comms happy hour before the Axios event.

And it was lovely to see so many friends and former colleagues: Daniel Méndez Aróstica, MBA, Daniel Nestle, Todd Grossman, Shauna Elkin, Abenaa (Abby) Hayes (she/her/hers), Brooke Kruger, Selena Strandberg, Ben Rose, Leah Katz, Ethan McCarty, Maril Gagen MacDonald.

December kicks off a week of communications events in NYC.

I enjoyed a fun session last night, meeting fellow comms pros and sharing POVs on a host of topics. Thank you Amanda Coffee, APCO NY and Ragan Communications and PR Daily for hosting.

This Wednesday, Edelman has the global launch of its latest Trust Barometer Flash Poll at 11 am EST (AI at an inflection point). 

And on Thursday, Axios is hosting its 4th annual Communicators Live event in NYC. A great line-up of speakers, comms leaders emerging as vital trusted advisors as companies face:
- Siloed audiences
- Political polarization
- Cultural complexities
- Workplace transformation
- And, yes, AI disruption

Looking forward to seeing many former colleagues and friends on Dec 4.

The Chief Communications Officer has become a strategic sense-maker, tasked with navigating a polycrisis of fused geopolitical, societal, and technological risk. 

This was one of several key points that jumped out in the Ipsos Reputation Council Report 2025. It's worth the read. Few other findings of note.

- With non-stop social fragmentation and issue cycles, business leaders are embracing strategic silence more often — not as avoidance, but as a deliberate act of prioritization and navigation of a pragmatic ESG era. 

- Today's communications leaders have been pushed far beyond functional expertise, helping organizations interpret fast-moving risks, look around corners, align internally, and act with clarity in moments that matter.

#communicationsleadership #strategiccommunications #crisiscommunications

The “17, 70, 0” rule just reframed my view of the jobs vs AI debate.

In the latest Trending Communicator episode, Daniel Nestle’s guest, Chris Gee, reminded us that our economy still runs on people (their work, income and participation). 

Chris cited the 17, 70, 0 rule:
17 → $17T in U.S. consumer spend
70 → 70% of U.S. GDP depends on it
0 → what AI will spend 

What does this mean? The US economy depends upon people having jobs and incomes to buy things. AI and agents won't be these "consumers" of goods.  

My take? We need significant coordination across industries, governments, academia, and NGOs to reskill and upskill at scale. 

Every major tech shift has displaced jobs and created new ones — but the speed and scale of displacement this time really raises the stakes and legit concerns.

And for those just entering the workforce, I feel for them. We owe the next generation more pathways to secure roles, learn and grow. 

Check out the episode (details in comments).

#strategiccommunications #AIincomms #futureofwork #AIjobs

Coffee Communications

Coffee Communications specializes in public relations for AI-first startups

Communications Consultant

Member of Mixing Board’s curated community of comms and brand marketing leaders.

Mixing Board Community Member

Under Armour

In this role, I led Under Armour's media relations brand storytelling across key audiences globally.

Senior Director of Global Media Relations

PayPal

In this role, I work to communicate PayPal's mission of democratizing financial services to external stakeholders. This includes driving strategy and execution for for our executive social media platforms. Additionally, guide PayPal’s global corporate media relations program, including financial earnings, diversity programming and corporate milestones. In this role, I communicate with media daily to collaborate on storytelling. I manage various executive social media platforms. This includes producing Dan Schulman's Never Stand Still show and podcast that highlights other values-driven leaders.

I relocated to New York in February 2020 to focus on business and financial media relations.

Director, Global Corporate Communications

Senior Manager, Global Corporate Communications at PayPal

Lead Manager, Global Corporate Communications 

Communications Manager

eBay Inc

Corporate Communication for eBay Inc.
Innovation & New Ventures PR
eBay mobile PR - April 2012-March 2013
eBay Inc. corporate communications - May 2010-April 2012

Corporate Communications

American Association of University Women / Tech Trek

I was an invited speaker at the American Association of University Women state convention in April 2008. My presentation focused on how my positive experience at Tech Trek inspired me to pursue technology, science and math as a young adult. Currently, I am lending social media support to connect alumni.

Media Consultant

Burson-Marsteller

Client Staff Assistant & Technology PR Intern

Hillary Clinton for President

Associate

Weber Shandwick

Intern

Extremely well-connected Communications & PR Leader with 15+ years of experience in storytelling and executive thought leadership. At Coffee Communications, I specialize in enhancing the relevance and reputation capital of AI-first startups through innovative storytelling.

Based in New York, I host regular events to connect reporters and editors with stakeholders in the tech industry.

Previous experience includes communications leadership roles at Under Armour, PayPal and eBay engaging, negotiating with, and developing corporate narratives alongside media moguls in Business, Technology, and Finance. Outstanding ability to drive C-level communication platforms reaching across digital media, new media, and social media, in addition to coaching all levels of employees and leadership on public speaking and positioning. Recognized excellence in developing strategies to get the right message across to the right audience by the right person at the right time.

Amanda Coffee

Coming soon to Bury the Lede Substack and LinkedIn—

I had the privilege of interviewing communications leader Franz Paasche back in October before he joined Verizon as EVP, Corporate Affairs to lead the company’s new Corporate Affairs function.
 
When Franz led Corporate Affairs at PayPal, I learned a lot just by observing him. I’d often volunteer to greet his guests in the lobby and walk them to his office—small moments that offered big lessons in how he carried himself and represented the company.
 
He was also one of the biggest advocates for my career. During the PayPal split, I told him I was ready for a bigger challenge. Instead of giving me busy work, he placed me on the Corporate Communications team—right when we were ramping up efforts to reach the investor audience.
 
In our conversation, we talk about:
    •    The role of Corporate Affairs in driving collaboration
    •    The skills communications professionals need to move into leadership
    •    The importance of building reputation capital
 
Follow Bury the Lede to catch the full conversation as it rolls out this week https://lnkd.in/euz8BpMz

Communications Leader | AI PR | PRWeek 40 under 40 2024 Bury the Lede Substack

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Meredith Klein (she/her) & I value our community. We love introducing smart comms leaders and learning from each other.

& we aren’t afraid to try new things…

Video credit: V'Jae Brown from Ragan Communications and PR Daily Future of Communications Conference

Happy Holidays! 

I hope everyone has time to relax and spend quality time with family in December.

It was a busy year, which made the dog-only holiday card the right call 🐶 🎄❤️💚

Congrats to Leigh Scheps on being featured in Muck Rack’s recap on creator-driven journalism (pro tip: click through to the full report). She breaks down why she launched her Substack, how it strengthened her personal brand, and why direct connection to readers matters. https://lnkd.in/esBsa8uY

Muck Rack’s data and owned content continue to be a useful resource for anyone tracking how the communications is evolving. 

Bonus, I’m now following The Steele Sports Bar on Substack by Andrew Steele-Davis https://lnkd.in/estB-DVz

And be sure to follow Leigh’s Substack ‘Up with the Curtain’ for expert insights on Broadway, dining and travel including family friendly itineraries (love her Jersey Shore recs) https://lnkd.in/eQZpKeY9

Plank-ful for [solidcore] being opened on Turkey Day!

Go Bryan Myers & team 💙

I have four more spots to the NYC happy hour with Allison Carter of Ragan Communications and PR Daily tonight.

RSVP here and send me your email: https://lnkd.in/e5Js5TZ9

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Ben Trounson's LinkedIn Performance

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