Human Resources Health

Michael Gury

*** ********* ******, ***** ***, Stamford, CT 06902

203-***-****

***********@***.***

A highly-experienced, skilled master of public relations & communications

Michael Gury is a public relations and communications specialist whose

successes span information technology, pharmaceutical, wireless broadband,

IT analytics and consulting, information services, and the media

industries. He utilizes strategic, creative thinking and a wide array of

capabilities to deliver tangible results for the companies that he has

worked for and for the clients for whom he consults. He cuts to the essence

of difficult challenges, delivers successful solutions, as well as

innovative ideas and crisp discipline to all challenges. Additionally,

Michael has managed both in-house and outside agencies and led tightly-knit

regional and global teams to implement integrated public relations and

communications strategies and programs in as many as 100 countries. He has

earned the respect of peers, CEO's, and operational management teams. He

listens, creates, and flawlessly executes with calm and always with a

professional approach to problems. People understand and remember what

Michael Gury communicates.

PUBLIC RELATIONS & CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS

Michael has concentrated his career in Public Relations at IBM, the BBC,

Gartner, Cognizant, IMS Health, NextWave Wireless; consulting as well for

GE, Iron Mountain, CitiGroup, Oxford Health, My Executive Career Coach,

Eurocinema, the Temenos Institute and C.G. Jung Education Center, and

others.

His experience and capabilities include:

. Corporate Communications Strategy and Plans (Michael builds best-of-

breed communications strategies and plans for products, services and

corporate image based on clear business objectives and brand

positioning. His formula for successful communications is in the

diligence, discipline and creativity that go into planning)

. Public Relations (Michael is known for his creative PR programs that

involve traditional wire service distribution and private media list

delivery, as well as new channels such as social networking media,

multi-platform viral "grapevines", word-of-mouth and of course press

events. His forte is in establishing and maintaining solid

relationships with the most important journalists to build trust and

ensure an open line of communications, and he maintains contact with

many of them wherever they are in the world. Michael has personally

written and distributed over 1000 press releases and advisories and

has mounted PR campaigns focused on specific industries, specific

influential local Areas of Dominant Influence (ADI's), specific

demographics, regions, and global business media. Michael has served

as corporate spokesman numerous times. He is concise, authoritative,

and collected on camera, and trains senior executives and subject

experts for face-to-face and on-camera interviews)

. Corporate Identity (Michael has served as steward and expert on

corporate branding and even in how organizations should be designed to

reflect corporate commitment to brand values. He has headed naming,

design, guidance and policy, and brand research initiatives)

. Advice and Counsel (Michael has provided experienced and wise thinking

to CEO's, line management and Boards of Directors on all

communications matters; providing insight and solutions to otherwise

difficult and complex problems)

. Product Launches (Michael's direction and leadership of the IBM PC

launch in Europe and the global launch of the System/390, as well as

numerous launches for other companies, have proven that it is possible

to create and execute multiple simultaneous announcement events with

consistent announcement materials in 100 countries for customers,

employees, shareholders, and the press. Michael also likes to do the

unexpected for these audiences, gaining attention in an over-crowed

media world)

. Thought Leadership (Michael has created communications vehicles and

content that distinguish a company among its peers by demonstrating

industry leadership. These include events, books, brochures, articles

and bylines, op-eds, speeches, sponsorships and philanthropy,

websites, LinkedIn, Twitter, and videos)

. CEO Leadership and Visibility (Michael has reported directly to four

CEO's and creates regular and strategically important vehicles for

CEOs to project their business leadership and personal qualities.

Michael writes in the voice of each of his CEOs in speeches, letters,

memoranda, appearances, videos, etc. He coaches and CEOs and business

leaders in speech and presentation techniques)

. Social Media (Michael is a presence on many networks and has

successfully used combinations of media such as Facebook, LinkedIn,

Twitter and blogs to market personalized services such as career

coaching)

. Sponsorships (These are not the "usual suspects". Michael likes to

create disarming, distinctive and creative vehicles that enhance

company reputation within specific audiences: IBM's "Odyssey of the

Mind", a creative-problems-solving competition to reach the education

community; IBM's "Vienna New Years Concert" to reach upscale

demographics in the U.S. and Europe; and IMS Health scholarships for

doctorate studies of the value of information in improving the quality

of global healthcare)

. Financial Communications (Michael has written and directed over thirty

quarterly and annual earnings announcements including press releases

and analyst/investor conference call scripts, investor days, five

Annual Reports, and ongoing analyst tours and briefings. He has

orchestrated communications for over forty mergers and acquisitions)

. Crisis Communications (Corporate corruption, merger failures,

terrorist bomb blasts, wildfires, product malfunctions, NASA

disasters, catastrophic legislation, chemical spills, litigation, CEO

resignations, journalists with a grudge - are all familiar territory

to Michael. As a result, Michael knows how to prepare a corporation

for the worst and fly into action the moment a crisis erupts)

. Communications Research and Measurement (Michael has years of

experience in communications research and measurement, including

creative and impact assessment, impact, dry and wet testing for media

effectiveness, recall, awareness, attitude, and share of mind/share of

heart. He saved millions of media dollars for IBM by pre-testing its

advertising)

. Communications Organization and Talent Planning (What does the

organization look like? who reports to whom? What are the right

positions and roles? How all the parts mesh to be most effective? Who

needs to be developed, promoted, moved, or transition? Michael has

created communications organizations and advised on how Communications

ought to be structured)

. Agency Selection and Management (Michael provides neutral and

experienced guidance, recommendations, and support in advertising, PR,

design and other agency selection, negotiation and work assignments;

agency evaluation and reviews, contract guidance)

. Budget Management (Michael establishes zero-based budgets each cycle;

measures ROI; sets criteria for budgeting; and has consistently

managed his budgets to the dollar)

SELECTED ACHIEVEMENTS

PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY PUBLIC RELATIONS

Problem: When IMS Health was faced with the challenge of improving its flat

seven percent growth rate it launched a business strategy to build value-

added consulting and services capabilities around its core product - data

which tracks pharmaceutical product transactions in the global marketplace.

IMS was well-known in the Market Research and Sales functions of

pharmaceutical companies for its data, but less so by the buyers and C-

Suite influencers of consulting and services engagements. So how do you

build an image as a highly knowledgeable consultant in that space?

Solution: Michael's answer - a vibrant and insightful thought leadership

campaign aimed directly at every important leader in global healthcare on

the topic of "The Value of Information in the Advancement of Healthcare".

Michael built a global internal team and published an 80-page book

chronicling every significant case study of how IMS data was used to

decrease morbidity, improve therapies, and shape public policy. Result: In

one year IMS's consulting and services unit was growing at a rate of 25 to

45 percent quarter-to-quarters.

PRODUCT LAUNCHES AND ATTITUDES

Problem: In Europe, IBM was readying the launch of the IBM Personal

Computer but they knew it would be an uphill battle. Apple and others were

already in the market. And to compound the problem, an independent European

Public Attitude Survey showed IBM's image was firmly established as an

unfriendly big computer company selling to big companies. Solution:

Michael created and rolled-out a "Market Preparation" advertising and PR

campaign to 18 countries in 13 languages - with a different ad and release

each month. The ads were three and eight-page gatefolds. The press

releases announced customer wins in small companies. Result: After the

campaign ran for 18 months the European Public Attitude Survey showed a

statistically significant improvement in awareness of IBM as a small

systems provider by an unheard of 10 percent across Europe. The trigger

was pulled and the PC launched. IBM could barely keep up with demand.

IMAGE BUILDER

Michael has reshaped corporate identities, themes and messages, logos, look

and feel, and standards;

and has a highly creative approach to image challenges, both internally and

externally. Problem: Because of its business strategy to sell-in to the

"C-Suite" it was important to boost Gartner's image as an IT opinion

leader. Solution: Michael came up with the idea of co-branding a 30-page

feature insert with a major general business publication. The subject?

"The Future of IT". Result: He sold the idea to Forbes magazine and the co-

branded Gartner/Forbes publication hit the stands in just four months, in

time for distribution at Gartner's biggest annual customer conference, The

Gartner Symposium. Gartner's logo and messages reached over 1 million

Forbes readers, and perhaps most impressively, it cost Gartner $0.00.

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

Problem: The European Commission voted to nullify copyright protection for

IMS Health's core product line. The decision threatened IMS Health's entire

business by creating a precedent for similar litigation. The international

press in Brussels had a field day. Solution: Michael set up a war room in

Brussels within 24-hours - contacting journalists, conducting informational

meetings, arranging key IMS experts to provide details, and communicating

business-critical information to mitigate the double threat of uninformed

press speculation and worldwide circulation of misinformation. Michael

wrote press releases and all CEO communications to investors, employees and

suppliers; and he educated the press. Foreign journalists covering the EC

were encouraged to - and did - write informed and objective articles

regarding the situation and U.S- based analysts that reported the threat

was eliminated. Result: IMS won the battle in the minds of the press and

then in the EC courtroom when under pressure from all fronts, the EC

rescinded its ruling in less than half the expected time.

EXPERIENCE

PRINCIPAL, MICHAEL GURY COMMUNICATIONS, LLC, STAMFORD, CT

2008 - Present

Responsible for all account, creative and operations of Michael Gury

Communications, a global marketing, branding and communications agency.

Clients include GE, Iron Mountain, CitiGroup/Primerica, IMS Health, Temenos

Institute, My Executive Career Coach.

VP/EXTERNAL RELATIONS, NEXTWAVE WIRELESS, NORWALK, CT

2007 - 2008

Reporting to the EVP Marketing, responsible for all press activities,

including: 75 press releases, netting over 45,000 pick-ups in trade and

business media around the world; trade show events around the world; merger

& acquisition communications; financial communications; executive

communications and internal communications.

VP/GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS, IMS HEALTH, FAIRFIELD, CT

1997 - 2007

Reporting to the CEO and Chairman, responsible for all External and

Internal Communications, Developed brand identity for IMS, supervised the

Global PR for the spin-of from Cognizant, created the "RX" stock symbol,

developed all press materials and communications for acquisitions, spin-

off, mergers, divestitures; annual report; Investor Relations activities;

140 press releases per year; created and managed the corporate website:

http://imshealth.com. Supervised a global team of 35 professionals and

multiple PR and advertising agencies.

VP/PR & COMMUNICATIONS, GARTNER, GREENWICH, CT

1996 - 1997

Responsible for corporate and marketing PR communications strategy.

Corporate media relations initiatives

yielded a 400 percent improvement in communications impact; media

sponsorships with Forbes, valued at $4

to 5 million in gratis advertising; print and radio advertising campaigns

developed in house; PR expansion into

Europe, Asia and Latin America; restructured global public relations agency

support.

VP/COMMUNICATIONS & BRANDING, BBC WORLDWIDE AMERICAS, NY

1994 - 1996

Responsible for PR and all non-broadcast branding revenue in the

Americas, in Video, Licensing, Audio, Books & Magazines, Advanced Media,

Education and Latin America. Responsible for the BBC's regional Growth

Plan and

Strategy, yielding 65 percent increase in revenue in first 12 months, 200

percent in plan for 24 months. Advised corporate officers on Internet

news delivery and the BBC's first global Internet strategy. Grew business

from flat

$50 million to $500 million in three years as a result of non-TV

licensing branded deals; developed brand licensing

deal with Discovery.

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, IBM LATIN AMERICA

1991 - 1994

Responsible for geographic unit communications in Latin America,

including strategy, country staffing, resources

and agencies. Supervised all product launches across the geography.

Created single look, single theme campaigns

across the region. Reduced number of PR and Advertising agencies from 10

to 2. Successfully managed business-

critical crises including terrorist events, natural disasters, legal and

government situations, personnel and human resources situations.

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING OPERATIONS, IBM ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS

1990 - 1991

Member of "Project Blue" core development team for the IBM System/390, with

revenues of over $30 billion. Responsible for the worldwide launch of the

S/390 in 75 countries simultaneously in September 1990 -- hailed as the

largest and most successful IBM announcement in its history. IBM stock

gained 40 points between 1990 and 1991.

DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION, IBM CORPORATION

1985 - 1990

Corporate staff role at IBM headquarters, responsible for worldwide

advertising, promotion and PR, including:

agency selection, global campaigns, U.S. domestic corporate communications

in television and print.

DIRECTOR, PUBLIC RELATIONS AND PROMOTION, IBM EMEA

1982 - 1985

Responsible for IBM Europe's strategy, staffing, and launch of the IBM

Personal Computer in Europe in 1983.

EDUCATION

Harvard University, English Literature, B.A. magna cum laude

ASSOCIATIONS

PRSA, American Marketing Association, MENG, ITWA

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS AND BACKGROUND

http://www.michaelgury.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgury

http://www.twitter/michaelgury

http://tweetmyjobs.com/jobseekerprofiles/13872

Blog: http://michaelgury.blogspot.com

PERSONAL

A professional SCUBA diver for many years, Michael has dived around the

world with wild dolphins, giant manta, black tip sharks and the late rocket

scientist Werner Von Braun. South Indian and Jamaican feasts that he

cooked are still recalled by his college classmates after 30 years. He

reads first editions of Spanish, French and Russian literature and is the

original owner of a 1963 Gibson SG Junior which has taught him almost

everything he needs to know.

People understand and remember what Michael Gury communicates.

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