MARC ALAN BRAILOV

550 N. St. Clair, # 2105, Chicago, Il

(312) 881-5904 or (312) 208-8131
EXPERIENCE
General Motors/Weber Shandwick, Detroit, Michigan,
August 2007-May 2010
Vice President (Weber Shandwick)
* Managed news relations and external communications for the company's global IT
department, with office at GM's HQ. Worked with such top GM suppliers as Hewlet
t Packard, EDS, IBM, Microsoft, Cisco and others. Secured prominent coverage in
Business Week, The Wall Street Journal (most prominent coverage ever for GM's IT
Department) and obtained cover stories with leading IT trade publications. Orga
nized successful national press events. Conceived IT news videos. Produced messa
ging to suppliers on bankruptcy.
Boomers Plus Communications, Evanston, Illinois,
January 2007-August 2007
Senior Consultant
* Provided consultation on strategic messaging and communications tactics.
Boomers Plus, a full-service public relations firm mainly for non-profits, focus
ed on issues affecting aged Americans, including health care, technology and con
sumer issues.
SPSS, Chicago, Illinois,
December 2004-January 2007
Senior Director of Corporate Communications
* Oversaw SPSS's corporate communications, encompassing public and media relatio
ns, industry analyst relations, investor relations and financial communications,
customer marketing and employee communications. Substantially increased press-c
overage rate: secured most press coverage, by far, in company's 38-year history.
* Hired and supervised internal staff, external public communications firm and $
1+ million budget. Successfully conceived and directed implementation of new cor
porate communications strategy, messaging and procedures while cutting costs.
* Generated press coverage in such media as The Chicago Tribune, Associated Pres
s, Dow Jones, Wall Street Journal, UPI, The Economist, Investor's Business Daily
(two feature stories), Information Week (two cover stories), and San Jose Mercu
ry News. Worked with such customers as American Airlines, Verizon, Peace Corps a
nd OfficeMax,
* Enhanced corporate Web site, creating new pages on customer successes and comp
any's competitiveness. Initiated marketing book on customer successes (a company
first). Developed customer reference program for marketing purposes. Obtained f
avorable industry analyst reports. Recruited customers and leading industry anal
ysts for annual customer conference. Produced company's 2004 annual report.
SPSS, founded in 1968, is a worldwide provider of predictive analytics software.
MicroStrategy, McLean, Virginia,
July 2001-December 2004
Senior Director of Public Relations (Title Upgrade April 2004)
* Directed worldwide public relations efforts. Created comprehensive PR strategy
in 2001 to reshape company's image and very successfully directed its implement
ation. Substantially increased company's positive press coverage, more than doub
ling weekly rate, and helped drive marketing prospect leads and sales cycles, by
broadening press contacts, expanding press lists ten-fold, organizing press mee
tings and tours, reshaping messaging, securing awards, and producing innovative
marketing collateral material. Supervised PR Manager. Oversaw PR work of eight m
arketing managers in Europe, Asia and Latin America and UK PR firm. Hired and su
pervised U.S. PR firm. Worked with such customers and partners as IBM, U.S. Post
al Service, Fleet, Sprint, Ace Hardware, Best Buy and Comcast.
* Served as national media spokesperson, handling sensitive issues and crisis co
mmunications, obtained coverage with ABC-TV, CNBC-TV, Dow Jones, Investor's Busi
ness Daily, Forbes, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, UPI, The
New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg TV, CNET Radio, CBS Marketwatch,
National Public Radio, Reuters, Information Week, Internet World, eWeek, CIO, In
foWorld, Intelligent Enterprise, ComputerWorld, DM Review, Internet Week, Comput
erWire, CRN and PC Magazine.
* Developed new company-wide PR guidelines and messaging, instituted weekly pres
s coverage tracking procedure and enhanced Web site.
* Successfully expanded business media pitching and coverage: engendering very p
ositive comeback stories of company in Business Week, Dow Jones and Investor's B
usiness Daily and segment on ABC-TV's Business Now program; a feature interview
for CEO on CNBC-TV, another interview on NPR's "Marketplace"; and cover story in
Washington Business Forward magazine.
* Produced COO's scripts for earnings reports to investors and financial analyst
s.
* Secured awards in DM Review, Executive Technology and Software Business.
* Promoted 2002 customer conference to media, attracting 25 reporters, doubling
prior year's attendance, and secured top White House national security official
as keynote speaker. Recruited Business Week publisher for 2004 conference.
MicroStrategy, founded in 1989, is a worldwide provider of business intelligence
software with offices in North America, Europe, Asia and South America.
AeA (American Electronics Association), Washington, D.C., & Santa Clara, CA.,
October 1999-July 2001
Director of Public Communications
* Directed AeA's public relations; served as association press spokesman, addres
sing complex, contentious issues; supervised PR Manager, provided counsel and st
rategy to AeA staff, and oversaw PR for 17 Council offices located throughout th
e nation and in China and Europe.
* Significantly increased and enhanced AeA's national visibility by promoting st
ories on a range of issues; substantially expanding press lists; arranging meeti
ngs with key reporters and editors; directing roll-outs of AeA-Nasdaq industry r
eports; and securing coverage in such media as USA Today, The New York Times, Sa
n Jose Mercury News, The Washington Post, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journ
al, Barrons, Business Week, San Francisco Chronicle, Nikkei, Agency France Press
, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, CNN, CNNfn, MSNBC, BBC, CNBC
, NPR, Upside, Business 2.0, Interactive Week, Information Week, PC World, Natio
nal Journal; and Associated Press (AP), Reuters and UPI, leading to stories in m
edia nationwide and internationally.
* Created new, comprehensive national public relations strategy, November 1999,
and directed its implementation. Initiated and successfully organized first leg
of strategy, regular national press conferences: 35 reporters attended first pre
ss event, January 2000; 32 reporters attended second event, September 2000; 45 r
eporters at third event, January 2001.
* Successfully organized press event for AeA member companies on energy issue an
d high-tech industry, attracting 25 trade and business reporters.
* Promoted AeA's industry financial conferences.
* Directed PR campaign for broad high-tech industry coalition lobbying Congress
for normal trade relations' status for China. Developed strategy and supervised
outside PR agency. Organized successful Capitol Hill press event and wrote and d
irected drafting of print advertising. Ghost wrote op-ed (published in Seattle T
imes). Conceived "real people" radio ads for key congressional districts, raised
funding, directed script development and ad buys, recruited high-tech worker vo
lunteers. Ads ran on radio stations in CA, NY, NC, MN, TX, IL, AZ, MA and FL, re
aching nearly five million people. Story on ads in San Francisco Chronicle.
* Developed national PR strategy for association's name change (to AeA) and supe
rvised implementation, involving staff and 17 Council offices and reaching 10,00
0 publications.
* Wrote and directed production of AeA's 2001 Public Policy Report for Bush Admi
nistration and Congress. Successfully promoted report to media, generating major
international coverage.
The nation's largest high-tech trade association, AeA represents over 3,500 high
-tech companies, including HP, Intel, Microsoft, Apple, Motorola, Texas Instrume
nts, Cisco and AOL.
Issue Dynamics, Inc. (IDI), Washington, D.C.,
August 1998-October 1999
Public Affairs Consultant for Internet & Telecommunications Issues
* Developed communications strategies and successfully directed projects address
ing Internet and telecommunications policies and issues; clients, Bell Atlantic
and Ameritech Corporation.
* Directed development and promotion of Penn State study on telecom industry and
consumers.
* Conceived successful Internet education and safety CD-ROM project for Ameritec
h Corp., obtained funding, and supervised CD-ROM's development. CD-ROMs distribu
ted to public schools and consumers in Chicago and Midwest; training provided to
teachers. Special Web site created. Secured and managed fruitful partnerships w
ith National Urban League, Tech Corps, and National Center for Missing and Explo
ited Children. Significant print and TV coverage included WGN-TV, FOX-TV, WFLD-T
V, Chicago Tribune, Milwaukee Journal and Interactive Week.
* Received bonuses, December 1998 and May 1999.
IDI, a public relations firm, was established in 1986.
MCI Communications Corporation, Washington, D.C.,
July 1996-July 1998
Public Policy Communications Manager
* Served as MCI's media spokesperson on Internet policy issues, developed and ma
naged implementation of communications strategies and innovative public relation
s initiatives. Managed outside PR agency staff.
* Oversaw PR and served as spokesperson for broad industry coalition on contenti
ous international digital copyright issue, securing coverage in such media as US
A Today, European Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, Dow Jones, MSNBC
, Agency France Press and Congress Daily.
* Conceived Internet Policy Vision Paper, presenting MCI's Internet policies and
positions, co-wrote Paper, developed promotional strategy and successfully dire
cted its implementation. Forty-two page Paper -- first-of-its-kind from a major
telecom carrier -- released July 1997; press conference, attracting 50 reporters
and industry analysts, televised live on MSNBC-TV. Global media coverage includ
ed Reuters, CNBC, Bloomberg, Dow Jones, South China Morning Post and The New Yor
k Times.
* Created Internet "Smart-Surfing" consumer education workshops, held in six cit
ies, and successfully supervised implementation and promotion. Oversaw developme
nt of special Web site. Press coverage included USA Today, The Washington Post a
nd on CBS-TV and National Public Radio.
* Directed the production of consumer education material on online privacy and "
spamming."
* Ghost-wrote op-eds and placed in The New York Times (Sunday edition), Interact
ive Week and Internet Week.
* Received Management Bonuses, January and June 1997.
EDUCATION The University of Texas at Austin
The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
Master of Public Affairs
University of Wisconsin at Madison
Bachelor of Arts, Major: Political Science
PUBLICATIONS Op-ed pieces published in Milwaukee Journal, Madison, Wisconsin Cap
ital Times, University of Texas Daily Texan; articles published in Youth Policy,
Youth Record and Inside Legal Services; letters to the editor published in The
Washington Post.
AWARDS The Space Foundation's "National Excellence Award" for Master's Professio
nal Report, "Space Commerce and Public Policy."