CIPR Election: You made a difference, thank you

I’ve been named as the CIPR President for 2014. Jon White was a fearsome opponent. I have studied his work and benefited from his wisdom like so many students of the profession. At times it has felt almost disrespectful to challenge him publicly.

We’ve already had a quick conversation by phone and plan to catch-up soon and I hope that he’ll agree to continue to play a significant role in helping to develop the CIPR.

What happens next

In the coming weeks and months there is much work to do to support the current President Sue Wolstenholme in addressing current priorities.

Thereafter I have made my plan clear through my ten pledges throughout the campaign.

I want to seek to engage with the Council – the CIPR’s governing body – to discuss the opportunity to use Continuing Professional Development (CPD) as a means to drive up standards in the profession.

Second, I want to engage Accredited and Chartered Practitioners in a conversation about how we establish these accreditations as a benchmark for excellence with employers and other members.

Third, I want to connect directly with members and listen to their concerns through a monthly discussion via Twitter.

A long-term plan

I set out an ambitious plan as part of my campaign and I’m almost certainly not going to get it all done. But I’ll make a good start.

I hope that the campaign has inspired members to recognise the opportunity that the public relations profession faces and that they will play their part in the CIPR's continuing modernisation.

An immediate priority is the recruitment of a new CEO and the search for a President for 2015.

I also hope that the campaign has inspired some of the people that aren’t members but got involved in the debates and discussions along the way either online or offline, to sign-up to membership.

“I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks.”

I owe a lot of people a lot of thanks for their help with the campaign.

Three dear friends: Sarah Hall, Rachel Miller and Sarah Pinch, who tested my messages, challenged my thinking and shared content with their networks and beyond.

I’ve already started a personal campaign to persuade one of the trio to stand later this year for President for 2015. Watch this space and in the meantime a huge heartfelt thanks to you all.

Thanks to my ten nominees who helped develop my ten words and ten pledges. Many of these people also provided supporting quotes for the #vote4wadds Pinterest board. To them and everyone else that provided quotes thank you.

Thanks to Don't Panic's Andy Wake for the Shepard Fairey style campaign image.

John Brown, Eva Maclaine, Simon McVickers, Julio Romo, and Kevin Ruck were all patient and supportive in helping me understand different areas of public relations practice. Thank you all.

Thank you to everyone that hosted Q&As and discussions:All Things IC, PR Conversation, PR Moment, CIPR International, CIPR Marcoms, and CIPR Public Affairs.

Thank you to everyone that participated in the LinkedIn discussions.

Thank you to the bloggers that supported the campaign: Ged Carroll and Steve Earl on PRWeek, Neville Hobson on For Immediate Release, and Rob Brown, Stuart Bruce, Jonathan Kerr, Andrew Smith, Sally Sykes, Simon Wakeman and Ross Wigham.

Tom Watson tested me with his thought provoking comment on academic rigor, creativity and roots to improving reputation. Thank you.

Thanks to my colleagues at Ketchum for their patience throughout the campaign. Thanks also to the team at Admiral PR.

Thanks to Andy Barr at 10Yetis for sporting a #vote4wadds t-shirt.

Thanks to everyone, members and non-members, that tweeted #vote4wadds support.

Finally thanks to everyone that voted for me. All 475 of you. You made a difference.

The real hard work starts now.