STW chief Chris Savage and ACMA’s Tom Burton complete CommsCon lineup
One of Australia’s most successful PR executives is the final speaker to be announced for this week’s CommsCon conference.
Chris Savage, chief operating officer of STW Group, will be a panellist for CommsCon Question Time, which will be the final keynote session of Thursday’s CommsCon conference. CommsCon, focused on the PR and communications industry, is organised by Mumbrella’s parent company Focal Attractions.
Savage joined the panel after new Public Relations Institute of Australia president Mike Watson withdrew on Friday, citing work pressures.
In 2000, Savage was the founding staff member of Ogilvy PR Australia which he took on to become the biggest and most profitable public relations business in Australia. This followed a 14 year stint with PR giant Burson-Marsteller with roles including Asia Pacific VP and chief executive for Australia.
Savage is also a long term PRIA supporter and prolific blogger.
STW is the largest marketing and communications company in the southern hemisphere, employing more than 2,500 people.
Also joining the question time panel is journalism and communications veteran Tom Burton, the Australian Communications & Media Authority’s executive manager for Gov 2.0, stakeholder engagement and communications.
Burton is also a former ministerial adviser and spent two decades in senior roles for Fairfax Media including chief political correspondent of the Australian Financial Review, managing editor of the smh.com.au website and executive editor of the Sydney Morning Herald.
The other two speakers, previously announced, for the CommsCon question time panel are Stuart Gregor, chairman of The PR Council and boss of agency Liquid Ideas, and Kat Thomas, founder and executive creative director of One Green Bean.
CommsCon takes place in Sydney this Thursday. Unless sold out, tickets are on sale until Wednesday lunchtime.
Case study sessions at CommsCon cover PR, technology and social media; celebrity endorsement; working with multiple stake holders; and crisis communications. Also on the agenda is a keynote appearance from Joe Jareck, director of public relations for The LA Dodgers, insights into lobbying under a Liberal government and a presentation on the world’s best PR thinking. There will also be insights on changing agency structures and an examination of the changing role for in-house PRs.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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