George Palmer is a brand development strategist whose skills, insight and expertise have helped leading Fortune 500 companies and major nonprofit organizations grow and maximize opportunities.

After a successful business career in which he led dynamic, award-winning communication programs at three Fortune 500 companies, George formed Strategicomm in early 2000 in Laguna Beach, CA and relocated it to Jacksonville in August 2003. Strategicomm specializes in leadership communication to employees and key outside audiences and building brands using strategic communication disciplines.

Skilled at interpreting corporate cultures and developing critical messages to employees, customers and other critical audiences, George brings a passion for excellence to his consulting practice. His corporate experience includes DuPont, Rhône-Poulenc and Fluor Corporation. He was vice president for communications with responsibility for communications strategy, external and internal communications, community relations and was chief spokesperson at both Fluor and Rhône-Poulenc Inc.

At Fluor, the largest publicly held construction and engineering firm in the United States, George initiated a worldwide branding program that improved the company's name recognition and recall with the financial community and other target audiences. In addition, he pioneered a number of two-way communication initiatives to help the new chairman and chief executive office effectively reach the company's 50,000 worldwide employees during a period of significant organizational transition.

At Rhône-Poulenc, the French chemical and pharmaceutical giant, he created an integrated communication program that garnered two top national industry awards. In addition, he led the company's brand building efforts in the United States. Over a 12-month period, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Business Week, Fortune, Forbes and several other major national financial media carried positive feature stories on the company. The awareness generated through the brand building campaign contributed to a significant stock price increase and helped position the company for a successful merger with a major German company. The resulting company, Aventis, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world today.

Prior to Rhône-Poulenc, George held a number of senior positions at the DuPont Company. A partial list of his responsibilities includes leading the communication function for two multi-billion dollar businesses, acting as chief spokesperson with the news media on health, safety and environmental affairs, advising senior management on human resources communications and leading the company's efforts to identify and analyze key public policy issues. During the period that he was responsible for employee communication, he brought his branding and positioning expertise to bear on a troubling recruiting issue. At the time, recruiting large numbers of highly qualified women and minorities was a problem for the company. As senior manager of corporate communication, George developed a strategic communication plan focused on two unique strengths - harassment prevention and work and family programs. The three-year campaign gained widespread recognition for the company as one of the most desirable places to work, greatly aiding efforts to recruit top talent. Earlier in his career at DuPont, George handled corporate communication on safety and health issues and helped build the company's reputation as an environmental pacesetter. Prior to that, he managed the company's community relations and corporate giving programs.

George provides public relations, marketing and community relations support to regional and national nonprofit organizations including Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, Keystone Symposia, Seattle's Museum of Flight, The Alaska SeaLife Center, Dayton Area Red Cross and Hawaii's Military Aviation Museum of the Pacific.

At Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, a national organization devoted to recording and distributing audio textbooks, he laid the groundwork for a highly successful fund raising campaign by stepping into a void left by an unexpected departure of the head of public relations. While the organization searched for a new vice president, George led the function to the next level of performance in counseling, media relations and special projects and built the organizations' visibility through feature coverage in the national media.

At Keystone Symposia, George led a Strategicomm team of experts charged with auditing the internationally renowned organization's communication activities, exploring its fund raising potential with prospective donors and developing a marketing program to build the strength of its brand. Keystone is now considered among the world's premier scientific conferencing organizations. At the American Red Cross of Dayton, one of the largest Red Cross chapters in the United States, he developed a compelling case for support and marketing strategy that helped the chapter improve fund raising 56 percent over the previous year at a time when counterparts throughout the country were experiencing significant declines in contributions.

A graduate of Duquesne University and an Army Information Officer, George completed the executive management program at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, DuPont's advanced marketing management program and Rhône-Poulenc's Management Entrepreneurship Progamme. George is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America and a member of the prestigious international communication professional organization, The Arthur Page Society.