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Bumi appointment of PR man to chief executive

Commenting on the news that mining group Bumi plc has turned to its top public relations man Nick von Schirnding to fill the gap left after CEO Nalin Rathod resigned, Stefan Stern, Visiting Professor in management practice at Cass Business School comments:

“And then there were two. In October John Fallon, a former comms guy, was appointed CEO at Pearson in succession to Marjorie Scardino. Now the troubled miner Bumi has asked its group comms and investor relations chief Nick von Schirnding to step up to the top job. If anyone was still in any doubt about the need for CEOs to be effective communicators, this “mini-trend” should help convince them that communications matter more than ever.

CEOs (especially of public companies) have to face outwards at least as much as they look inwards. It is an ambassadorial job. And with such a high proportion of the shareholder register being traded at (high) speed, a single communications slip could prove costly.

There is no mystery as to why certain business leaders have positive PR profiles. They see communicating as a key task. The build it in to their diary. They respond to media requests. And they realise that being out there is usually beneficial for their business.

Of course there is a day job back in the office, with spreadsheets, data, meetings and management to be done. But there is a communications job to be done too. For good communicators who can lead and manage well and know their way round a balance sheet, opportunity knocks.“

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Cass Business School .