Crisis Communications and Hospitality Industry Veteran Joins CommCore

July 12, 2013 - PRLog -- Roger Conner, a senior executive in the hospitality industry and veteran crisis communicator, and Principal of Conner Communications LLC, has joined CommCore Consulting Group as a Senior Consultant. Conner will work out of CommCore’s Washington, DC headquarters.

A 25-year Marriott executive, Conner served as Vice President, Communications for the leading global hospitality company and one of the world’s Top 100 brands. He was responsible for brand and market PR, PR/marketing communications agency selection and management, special events and sponsorships, internal communications, community relations engagement and PR, issues/reputation management, and crisis communications.

At Marriott, he served in various brand and corporate PR roles; during the course of his career, Marriott expanded from approximately 20 hotels to over 3,000 hotels in 70 countries. A crisis communications specialist, Conner has managed and led communications teams through some of the most tragic events our world has seen, including, most prominently, 9/11 and the loss of the Marriott World Trade Center hotel. As a Marriott executive, he also responded to the assassination of Rabbi Meir Kehane at the New York Marriott East Side Hotel, the bombing of the Jakarta Marriott, and the bombing of the Islamabad Marriott. He is a frequent guest speaker and trainer on crisis communications.

“The addition of Roger Conner emphasizes CommCore’s commitment to providing sector-specific expertise to our clients,” said CommCore CEO and President Andrew Gilman. “Roger’s experience in the hospitality industry, and in particular in crisis management and response, will be invaluable assets to our hotel, tourism and travel customers.”

During his tenure at Marriott, Conner handled major communication responsibilities for the acquisition of both Renaissance and Ritz-Carlton hotel companies and was a key part of the communications team on Marriott’s strategic development of its “portfolio of brands,” including the company’s move into new media and social media marketing. He created and directed over 100 hotel Grand Openings and other major sports and entertainment events—often in concert with Bill Marriott, the company’s Chairman and CEO—and developed position statements and served as spokesperson on numerous issues management fronts including labor, alcohol serving and consumption, smoking, adult entertainment, animal rights, and religious influence.

Prior to joining Marriott, Conner was Director of Advertising and PR for HERCO, Inc., part of the Hershey companies in Hershey, PA. Most recently, he was the Senior Director of Communications and Marketing for Catholic Charities USA, with responsibility for all internal and external communications and marketing for the third-largest non-profit organization in the country, comprised of a network of 170+ local agencies across the US.

Conner is a graduate of the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University, where he served as a guest lecturer in Marketing and Brand PR and Crisis Communication and as a member of the school’s Advisory Board. Additionally, Conner served on the board of “Neediest Kids,” a Washington, DC area non-profit that assists inner city and other economically disadvantaged school children.