SAN FRANCISCO, CA – 14 November 2006 – The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is now accepting nominations for the 2007 Excellence in Communication Leadership (EXCEL) Award. The EXCEL Award recognizes contributions to business communication by an organizational leader who is not a member of IABC. These contributions include initiating, directing, supporting or sustaining outstanding and effective communication programs.
The EXCEL Award is frequently given to a chief executive officer (CEO), managing director or president. There are no restrictions or biases based on size of organization or budget. Nominations for this international award can be made by both IABC members and non-members through the online forms available at www.iabc.com/awards/EXCEL.htm. The deadline for nominations is 12 January 2007.
“A leader must be a role model for the organization, of the behaviors that they would like to see from their people,� says Meryl David, ABC, chair of the 2007 EXCEL Award committee. “According to a recent IABC quick poll, the majority of the 250 respondents—37 percent—said that the most important communication characteristic of a successful CEO was personal communication. That means that a leader should participate in communication with internal and external audiences.�
Other important characteristics ranked in the poll included leadership, management and communication skills (25 percent), followed by commitment to communication programs (17 percent), ethics and professionalism (9 percent) and use of a creative communication strategy (8 percent). For more details on the IABC poll, visit www.iabc.com.
Last year’s EXCEL Award winner, Rajesh Subramanium, president of FedEx Canada, received the honor for commitment to effective business communication with rigorous attention to connecting with employees and integrating communication at the decision-making level. Other past recipients of the EXCEL Award include Mark Hurd, president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard; Edward W. Barnholt, chairman, president and CEO of Agilent Technologies; Richard M. Schulze, founder, chairman and CEP of Best Buy Co. Inc.; James E. Burton, CEO of the World Gold Council; Sir David Rowland, chairman of Lloyd’s; and Rick George, president and CEO of Suncor Energy Inc.
About IABC
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is a global network of communication professionals committed to improving organizational effectiveness through strategic communication. Established in 1970, IABC serves more than 14,000 members in 70 countries, 100 chapters and 10,000 organizations.
