Marketing and Communications Career Panel

On January 8, 2020, Over the Horizon Strategies (OTH) hosted a Marketing and Communications Career Panel at TEAK for our College Scholars. The event was moderated by OTH President Owen Rankin and provided fellows an opportunity to learn about the diverse experiences of the panelists across the marketing and communications space and gain practical advice on various career paths.

Panelists 

Owen Rankin is president of OTH Strategies. He founded the company in 2013 and is a trusted advisor on matters of reputation and corporate brand for clients across our portfolio. Owen has almost 30 years of global experience on both the client (Johnson & Johnson, Tambrands) and agency (Edelman) sides in reputation management, corporate social responsibility, consumer and health marketing, senior executive positioning, corporate communications and global sponsorship activation. 

Key work at OTH includes ABI, Chobani and J&J, who each had desires to modify how their brand was perceived. Each needed help to see the challenge/opportunity in a slightly different frame. Via research and analysis, OTH was able to work in partnership with senior leaders to identify new ways to position the brand and to tell a more compelling story. 

Key work prior to OTH includes leadership of Johnson & Johnson’s sponsorship of the Beijing Olympics, helping the company to leverage sport as an asset across the enterprise, and the creation of an award-winning corporate advertising campaign that broadened the company’s reputation beyond its products. 

Owen is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where he returns frequently to teach courses in business, brand and reputation. 

Errol Cockfield is Senior Vice President of Communications at MSNBC where he is responsible for setting the communications and media strategy and partnering with editorial and business leads at the network. He also serves as lead spokesperson. 

A journalist by training, Errol draws from extensive experience in the areas of media, politics and communications consulting, having led the New York crisis management team for Edelman, the world’s largest independent public relations agency. He also served as press secretary to two New York governors. Errol is also a media trainer, executive coach and has run crisis simulations for C-Suite teams. 

Prior to MSNBC, Errol oversaw a mix of public affairs and crisis management engagements as a SVP in Edelman NY’s Corporate & Public Affairs division. He steered clients – including Fortune 500 companies – through a range of crises related to product and food recalls, special situations, labor relations and regulatory changes. His sector experience has crossed education, food, tech, cosmetics, the arts and non-profits. 

Errol was press secretary to New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and his successor David Paterson during one of the most tumultuous political and fiscal crises in the state’s history. He was also chief of staff and communications director to the Democratic leader of the NY State Senate. He also helped lead communications for the state’s chief economic development agency. 

Drawing from deep media and political contacts, Errol has overseen issue campaigns and built key alliances for top government officials. Cockfield spent a dozen years as a reporter for the LA Times, the Hartford Courant and Newsday where he was the Statehouse Bureau Chief. He is a graduate of Stony Brook University and lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Ziedah, and their two children. 

Molly Pacala is Executive Director and Head of Communications for The Lifestyle Division at Condé Nast where she oversees public relations for Bon Appétit and Condé Nast Traveler. She is also responsible for executive positioning and business storytelling for the CPG, Health, Home and Travel category sales and marketing teams. 

Prior to this, she worked at Edelman in New York’s Corporate & Public Affairs practice where she managed media relations and crisis communications for various client accounts for Fortune 500 companies, trade associations and non-profits. Molly began her career in broadcast media and worked in political communication and guest booking in Washington, D.C. 

She is a graduate of Virginia Tech and lives in Tribeca with her husband and two daughters. 

Joe Pinto is a Senior Director of Global Partnerships at Global Citizen, currently leading relationships with Citi and Johnson & Johnson. Prior to this, Joe was at Estee Lauder Companies for ten years, working in International Market Development for Bobbi Brown, La Mer, Jo Malone London and Tom Ford Beauty. His tenure with ELC included assignments in New Zealand, Australia and London, UK and included execution of numerous global brand marketing conferences. 

Prior to this, Joe worked in several other industries, including consulting, multi-day AIDSRides and Breast Cancer Walks, and technology projects for NPOs. Throughout his life, Joe has championed a range of social causes, both through participation in fundraising events, volunteering and advocacy within his personal network. He continues to passionately support organizations focused on LGBT+ communities, humanitarian issues and animal welfare. Joe is a true global citizen, having visited 70+ countries, conversational in Spanish and French and currently learning Portuguese. Joe spends a considerable amount of time with his two rescue pups, Pablo and Frida. 

Alex Heath leads the Business + Social Purpose practice for Edelman New York. He and his team work closely with clients to devise purposeful business strategy backed by societal action, which includes counseling on ESG risks and approaches, creating engaging communications campaigns, and building strategic alliances to reach all stakeholders and bolster trust. 

At Edelman Alex has delivered global social impact strategy and sustainability campaigns for multinational companies and foundations, including Bridgestone, H&M, HP, Johnson & Johnson and the Rockefeller Foundation, to name just a few. 

Alex is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer; he spent two years in northeast Thailand, working with local government agencies engaging young people on health and migration issues. Staying in Southeast Asia, Alex moved to MTV EXIT, MTV International’s global anti-human trafficking behavior change campaign. Based in Bangkok with responsibilities across more than 20 countries in Asia, he built strategic partnerships with NGOs and government agencies to support their essential work in addressing the root causes of trafficking in the region, produced concerts and original content, and managed digital and social media strategy. 

Beyond the many businesses Alex has partnered with in his career, he’s also worked with (or for) hundreds of nonprofit organizations in Asia, Europe, Latin America & the United States; government agencies across Asia including those in Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand & Vietnam; and development and multilateral agencies like AusAID, ILO, IOM, UNODC, UNICEF and USAID. 

Alex has lived, studied and worked in the US, Latin America, Europe and Asia. He holds a MSc Development Studies from The London School of Economics, where he wrote his thesis on public-private partnerships in water service delivery, and a BA from Marywood University, where he played varsity basketball. Alex is bilingual in English and Thai.

Lauren Lampen is a consultant with OTH Strategies. She joined the company in 2017 and specializes in communications strategy and content development. Lauren also manages all design projects for OTH. 

In her role as a consultant prior to joining OTH, Lauren has led integrated marketing and communications programs for clients in a range of industries. Projects included branding and design, corporate messaging, content creation and digital marketing. Previously she worked with corporate clients in Edelman’s New York and Washington, DC offices supporting reputation management, thought leadership and media relations programs. 

Lauren is a graduate of Lehigh University with a degree in Finance. She is a mentor to a Class 20 Teak Fellow and serves on TEAK’s Next Generation Board.