How Communicators Can Help Leadership Present Their Best Selves, Internally and Externally

Ranson Burkette has over a decade of experience providing public relations, corporate communications and public affairs assistance to cyber security, consumer electronics, entertainment and non-profit clients and is currently the Head of Public Relations at ESET. In his current role, Ranson offers strategic counsel to stakeholders across the 1,700+ employee organization and leads the corporate communications programs, while working closely with the company’s senior executives, security researchers, analyst relations and competitive intelligence teams. His responsibilities include leading ESET North America’s PR teams, implementing crisis and incident response programs, and instituting proactive media relations for the company. Previously, Ranson was the Public Relations Manager for Sony in San Diego, California. He managed all aspects of Sony’s communication initiatives for the consumer electronics organization including media relations, press events, influencer social media and product-focused public relations. This included managing the high-profile Consumer Electronics Show (CES) annual press event, Sony Pictures movie premieres, global press tours and media roundtables. Ranson is currently a member of the Arthur Page Society. He regularly volunteers for the Outdoor Outreach non-profit organization in San Diego and he is currently on the board of directors for the Kids For Peace organization. He is also an advisory board member of #Latina Geeks. Ranson graduated with a BA in Management from Virginia Tech and lives in San Diego, California.

Alley Lyles is a product marketer creating widgets that change how people interact and experience technology at FemTech Focus and USAA's Chief Design Studio. She was recently recognized as Women in IT/Silicon Valley's "Digital Transformation Leader of the Year." She also led former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's team to implement New York's first digital road-map, leading to immersive experiences and marketing campaigns for Dell, AIG, ExxonMobil, Budweiser, Takeda Pharmaceuticals and FemTech start-ups. She enjoys collaboration, thinking scary BIG, and quantifying how women's health is everyone's health.

Melissa Shahbazian is the co-founder of SparkinSight Coaching. An executive coach and facilitator with over 10 years of experience, she specializes in the future of work. Her recent projects have included individual C-suite coaching domestically and workshops with C-suite professionals and their teams internationally. She is published in Forbes, Coaching Connection and The Hollywood Reporter. She has an accreditation in Emotional Intelligence and Team Emotional Intelligence–JCA Occupational Psychologists, UK. She's also a licensed Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Consultant, a Grove Consultant, Graphic Facilitation, Certified NLP Instructor, Licensed Lego® Strategic Play Consultant and Applied Improvisation Practitioner.

Justin Joffe is the Editorial Director and Editor-in-Chief at Ragan Communications where he oversees the editorial strategy for Ragan across brands and products. In addition to his editorial duties, Joffe also advises the programming team on best-in-class conferences, webinars and workshops during a time of unprecedented change in the way that communicators and marketers learn and meet. He is also a freelance journalist and communications writer specializing in the arts and culture, media and technology, and ad tech beats. Before joining the Ragan team, Joffe worked for Muck Rack, PR News, and The Observer. Additionally, his writing has appeared in several publications including Vulture, Newsweek, Vice, Relix, Flaunt, and many more. You can find him on X @joffaloff.