Handling negative criticism is the job of a growing number of communication executives who specialise in managing crises. Of primary concern to them is a desire to minimise damage to the company’s stock of reputation capital – the value of the company’s intangible assets, a number that constitutes over 65 per cent of an average company’s market value, and that accounts for over 90 per cent of the market value of many celebrated companies like the Coca-Cola Company and Google.
Charles Fombrun is chief executive officer and founder of the Reputation Institute, as well as professor emeritus at NYU’s Stern School of Business. He has taught at Wharton School, is the author of numerous books and the creator of reputation tracking systems used by many companies around the world.
Kasper Ulf Nielsen is an executive partner at Reputation Institute. Over the past 10 years, he has been engaged in international reputation management helping companies in a range of industries including pharmaceuticals, information technology, food and beverage, public transportation, energy and financial services. Kasper is a frequent commentator on reputation topics and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg, as well as local radio and TV around the world. He has made numerous presentations at international conferences on reputation management and has published a number of articles in Corporate Reputation Review. He is also co-author of the book Introduction to Organizational Theory published in 1999.
Nicolas G. Trad is managing partner of the Reputation Institute and director of International Operations. He coordinates the global network, has lead reputation projects and is a featured speaker on reputation management.