David Geddes, Ph.D., is a consultant specializing in business analytics and research. He is chair of the IPR Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation. Previously, David was Senior Vice President and Partner at Fleishman-Hillard, the largest global public relations firm, from 1995 through 2009. At Fleishman-Hillard, his work spanned technology, corporate reputation and branding, measurement and evaluation, investor relations, financial services, and economic development. Major current included AT&T, Wal-Mart, Dell, Visa, Motorola, Avaya, Tata Consultancy Services, Imation, Maxtor, Nortel, Emerson, Caterpillar, and the St. Louis Art Museum.
For technology and non technology clients alike, Dr. Geddes uses market information to provide strategic and tactical counsel to clients in the areas of corporate and brand positioning, corporate reputation, competitive marketplace analysis, communications planning, message development testing, product development, and product and service evaluation.
Prior to joining Fleishman Hillard, Dr. Geddes directed research efforts in the Kansas City office of Elrick & Lavidge, and worked as research director at Sprint from 1991 through 1994. While at Sprint, he played a key role in the design of customer satisfaction measurement programs for several divisions of Sprint, and provided consulting in customer satisfaction and total quality management.
From 1978 to 1988, Dr. Geddes was research director for a research and consulting division of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Toulouse France, where he was involved in regional economic development research, and worked on consulting projects in France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. He speaks, reads, and writes French fluently.
He is a member of the Institute for Public Relations Commission on PR Measurement & Evaluation, the Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communications, and an active speaker on research and measurement in public relations.
Dr. Geddes received a B.A. magna cum laude in Social Studies from Harvard, an M.B.A. from the University of Kansas, a Dipl.Et.App. from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Paris), and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.