Professor Fred Garcia

Being in the C-suite meeting doesn’t mean you have influence, and a single mistake can quietly sideline many talented PR and corporate communications leaders. Peter Woolfolk talks with Professor Fred Garcia about what he calls the FaceTime fallacy, why PR staff functions get pulled into the C-suite only when leaders think they have a “PR problem,” and how to reposition yourself as someone leaders actually rely on for high-stakes decisions. We also get concrete about language. If you walk into an executive conversation talking about stakeholders, messages, press releases, clicks, or “communications,” you may be signaling tactics when the CEO is thinking strategy, risk, growth, and trust. Fred shares simple translations that keep you in business terms: “the groups who matter most,” “what they need to hear you say,” and “what they need to see you do.” The goal is to meet executives where they are and connect every recommendation to outcomes the board will measure.