Torod B. Neptune is works in communications for Verizon Wireless. In this role, Torod leads Verizon’s external communications, product PR, media and industry analyst relations, and social media and digital strategy teams throughout the U.S., EMEA, and Asia-Pacific (75 countries across six continents). He also oversees communications strategy planning and execution for Verizon’s charitable arm, Verizon Foundation, including the company’s global sustainability and corporate responsibility initiatives and serves as a member of Verizon’s Corporate Responsibility Executive Council.
Before joining Verizon, Torod was senior vice president and global public affairs practice leader for Waggener Edstrom Worldwide (WE), one of the world’s largest communications consulting firms, where he oversaw the company’s Washington, D.C., and Brussels offices, its global crisis and issues management practices, and managed brand building, reputation management, and issue advocacy work for several leading global health, IT and technology innovators, including Microsoft, Abbott, LG Electronics, GSK, HTC, and Deutsche Telekom’s US wireless unit, T-Mobile USA.
Prior to WE, Torod was Chief Communications Strategist for the U.S. Congress, responsible for developing the first post-Sept. 11 and anthrax crisis communications function for the U.S. Congress / U.S. House of Representatives. Preceding Capitol Hill he was Senior Vice President Corporate Marketing & Communications for Bank of America Corp., and also Group Director with Weber Shandwick Worldwide’s public policy and political advocacy firm, Powell Tate.
A frequent speaker on the nexus of communications, culture and corporate reputation, Torod began his career as a reporter with The State newspaper in Columbia, SC. A North Carolina native, he received a B.A. degree in Government & International Affairs and Journalism & Mass Communications from the University of South Carolina. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Lagrant Foundation, the PRSA Foundation, the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) and the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF).