Sean Williams is the owner of Communication AMMO, Inc., which helps organizations plan and execute communications effectively and measure the results. His current and past clients include Ernst & Young, Western Reserve Academy, University Liggett School, Ketchum Pleon Change, Avery Dennison, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, and Western Financial Group. He also is an adjunct professor of Public Relations at Kent State University. Williams was vice president of Corporate Communications for National City Corporation, leading the public relations measurement and evaluation and internal communication functions during the height of the financial crisis. Previously, he was manager of Editorial Services for The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, responsible for internal communication and video production, photography and event production management.
While at Goodyear, Williams lead the team rebuilding the corporate intranet, using editorial content from around the world. He also served as the primary internal communication consultant to the company’s senior leadership and produced videos and still photography for a variety of constituencies.
Prior to joining Goodyear, he was senior consultant for Joe Williams Communications, Inc., expanding the company’s face-to-face communication learning program and the strategic planning, research and consulting practices with companies including Merck, Quintiles, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Prudential, John Deere, and Lucent, among others, training literally thousands of managers on communication effectiveness.
Williams was with KeyCorp for 13 years, most recently as vice president and senior communication manager for the financial services company. He directed corporate management communication and provided comprehensive, research-based communication consulting for the personal and institutional investment business, among other assignments.
A University of Washington graduate, Williams is a member of the Institute for Public Relations’ Commission on Measurement and Evaluation, and has published three research papers analyzing the PR measurement program of a major financial company, internal communications and social media. He is the co-winner of the 2008 International Public Relations Research Conference Jackson-Sharpe Award for PR research authored by an academic and a practitioner. His most recent research focuses on online influence, and he presented a paper on that subject at the 2013 International PR Research Conference in March, winning one of three awards as Best Paper.
Williams is a member of the Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication; the Greater Cleveland Chapter of PRSA, and the PRSA Employee Communication Section, this year as Chair. A past Chapter President of the International Association of Business Communicators Cleveland Chapter, Williams is active in the Heritage Region Conference.
Recent speaking engagements include “Why reputation risk is a PR issue, and what you can do about it” for the 2013 IABC Heritage Region Conference; and “You need Communication AMMO!” for the International IT Service Management Fusion 13 conference, plus: “Internal Communication: Measure Actions not just attitudes” for PRSA-Georgia; “Reinventing Ourselves: Employee Engagement” breakout and panel discussion for 2012 IABC Heritage Region Conference; “30 minutes on measurement” for IABC Cleveland; the YouToo Social Media Conference; “Intro to PR measurement”, a webinar for the U.S. Veteran’s administration, and in-person presentations for the Ohio Association of County Boards and the PRSA Akron Area chapter.