Dave Prichard

Dave Prichard is a seasoned career professional, counselor and strategist in the disciplines of stakeholder communications, public relations, media relations, issues and reputation management, crisis communications, executive communications, and organizational identity and branding for corporations, associations and non-profits, as well as an accomplished practitioner in the fields of investor relations and financial communications.

With more than 25 years of public company and organization leadership experience, Dave has held executive-level positions in directing comprehensive external and internal communications programs for a number of multi-national companies across a range of sectors, including health care and medical products, agricultural chemicals, consumer staples, and automotive/industrial. He has served his prior companies as chief company spokesperson, working with numerous reporters in the business and trade press, generating extensive and positive media coverage, handling numerous crisis situations, creating new product marketing campaigns, and developing public affairs programs, often with industry trade associations.

Dave has reported to and counseled numerous CEOs and CFOs to help increase the marketability of their respective companies’ stock, attract a more stable and less concentrated shareholder base, and help achieve the highest potential valuation by developing strategic investor messaging, positioning, and targeted programs and tactics. He also has implemented executive media training programs, directed several communications audits, and managed a number of web site content and design upgrades.

During his career, Dave has managed nearly 70 quarterly earnings cycles; created numerous investor presentations and executive scripts and speeches; implemented dozens of targeted, non-deal road shows in the U.S. and abroad; written and produced 25 corporate annual reports and other investor-oriented print and electronic materials; and demonstrated leadership in situations involving change and crisis communication as well as reputation management/enhancement/corporate branding.

In the non-profit sector, Dave is vice president and executive committee member of the Board of Directors of The Volunteer Center of Northwest Suburban Chicago, which annually places some 15,000 volunteers with dozens of needy social service agencies in the region. He is a member of the new Health and Wellness Investment Committee of the Northwest Suburban United Way and has assisted the Northern Illinois Food Bank with several fund-raising and reputation-building projects.

Prichard graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Illinois. He is active in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), including the executive committee of PRSA’s Financial Communications Section, and is a long-time member of the International Association of Business Communicators and the Publicity Club of Chicago.

Dave has long been active in the 4,000-member National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), the largest investor relations professional association in the world. He is a member of NIRI’s 16-member national Board of Directors, comprised of leading investor relations experts from across the U.S., and a past president of NIRI’s Chicago chapter. He is serving as co-chair for NIRI’s 2010 Annual Conference, a major four-day event that attracts more than 1,000 investor relations professionals.

Prichard has spoken on investor relations at Chicago’s Loyola University and been a panelist/speaker at professional association seminars and conferences on such topics as integrated communications, media relations, and organization annual reports.