For CommPRO’s Trusted Advisor Initiative, Helio Fred Garcia talks about AI, leadership, human judgment, ethical clarity and what it really means to be a trusted advisor.

CommPRO explores why the real creative advantage in the age of AI comes from combining data and technology with the human judgment, instinct and emotional intelligence that still drive great work.

This second excerpt from Influencing Leaders explores what CEOs and senior leaders really need from trusted advisors: practical, focused and ethical counsel that helps move both the leader and the organization forward.

In Part 2 of our conversation, Fred Garcia goes deeper on leadership, mentorship and the responsibility communicators have to help shape the next generation of our profession.

This Thursday, CommPRO brings Aaron Kwittken and communications leaders together to talk about a question that is quickly becoming very real: What should the communications team of 2027 actually look like?

In the first of a two-part CommPRO conversation, Helio Fred Garcia reflects on his 43-year relationship with James E. Lukaszewski, the lessons behind Influencing Leaders and why real influence has far less to do with getting a seat at the table than with becoming someone a leader trusts when the stakes are high.