An in-person CommPRO Town Hall on leadership, influence, opportunity and building a more inclusive C-suite
About the Conversation
What does inclusive leadership really look like in the C-suite today?
On December 1, CommPRO, in partnership with the Diversity Action Alliance (DAA) and hosted by Baker Tilly, will bring together senior and emerging leaders from communications, marketing, corporate affairs, investor relations, agencies and business for an in-person conversation about leadership, influence, opportunity and the changing C-suite.
December 1 is also Giving Tuesday, and we can't think of a better way to mark the occasion than by giving back to an industry that has given so much to all of us. For CommPRO and DAA, that means bringing people together to share experiences, open doors and help create more opportunities for the next generation of leaders.
We want to look at who has a voice at the highest levels of an organization, who gets the opportunity to lead and what those already in positions of influence can do to open doors for others.
Women's advancement is an important part of that conversation. Our industry has no shortage of talented women, yet questions remain about access to opportunity, visibility, sponsorship and the path to senior leadership. Who is advocating for women when they aren't in the room? Who is putting their names forward for the next opportunity? And what can women and men do together to create more meaningful pathways to leadership?
But the conversation is broader than gender.
Building a more inclusive C-suite means recognizing talent, bringing different perspectives into the room and making sure those perspectives are actually heard. It means looking at who gets mentored, who gets sponsored, who gets visibility and who is being prepared for the next leadership role.
It also means recognizing how quickly leadership itself is changing.
Today's communications leaders are counseling CEOs, managing reputation and risk, navigating AI and new technology, responding to increasingly complex stakeholder expectations and helping organizations communicate through uncertainty.
As communications becomes more central to business strategy, what does it take to earn a meaningful voice in the C-suite?
How can established leaders create opportunities for the people coming behind them? What role do mentorship and sponsorship play? How can women and men advocate for one another? And how do we make sure different generations, backgrounds and perspectives are part of the decisions being made at the highest levels?
This won't be a traditional panel or presentation.
We want people around the table talking with one another, sharing experiences, challenging assumptions and identifying practical ways to build a stronger and more inclusive generation of leaders.
The Conversation
Among the topics we'll explore:
Leadership and career growth for women including sponsorships, advocacy, and advancement
Building inclusive and supportive cultures
Navigating change in today's business landscape
Championing the next generation of women leaders
What skills will communications leaders need to have a stronger voice in the C-suite in 2027 and beyond?
How do we turn conversations about inclusion and opportunity into action?
We don't expect everyone around the table to agree. That's part of what will make this conversation valuable.
The goal is to bring together different generations, experiences and perspectives for the kind of candid conversation that can be difficult to have inside our own organizations.
Because building a more inclusive C-suite isn't one group's responsibility. It's a leadership issue, a business issue and a conversation that belongs to all of us.