Photo of Fred Cook

Fred
Cook

Professor of Professional Practice of Journalism
Director of the Center for Public Relations
As chairman of global PR agency Golin, Fred has 30+ years experience with world-class brands like Amazon, Nintendo and McDonald’s and is the author of ‘Improvise: Unorthodox Career Advice from an Unlikely CEO.’
Photo of Fred Cook
As chairman of global PR agency Golin, Fred has 30+ years experience with world-class brands like Amazon, Nintendo and McDonald’s and is the author of ‘Improvise: Unorthodox Career Advice from an Unlikely CEO.’
Expertise: 
Advertising, Business, Digital Media, Ethics, Gaming, Leadership, Los Angeles, Management, Marketing, Social Media, Technology and Innovation
Center Affiliation: 

Fred
Cook

Professor of Professional Practice of Journalism
Director of the Center for Public Relations

Tabs

Fred Cook has worked at Golin for over 30 years, during which he has had the privilege to work with a variety of high-profile CEOs, including Herb Kelleher, Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs. He has also managed a wide variety of clients, including Nintendo, Toyota and Disney. In 2014, Cook published Improvise: Unconventional Career Advice from an Unlikely CEO, which shares the wisdom he gained as a cabin boy on a Norwegian tanker, doorman at a 5-star hotel and chauffeur for drunks. In 2015, after speaking on college campuses around the world, Fred accepted an additional position with the University of Southern California as the director of the USC Center for Public Relations at USC Annenberg, whose mission is to shape the future of public relations and those who will lead it — through research, education and thought leadership.

Awards and Honors:

Silver Anvil, PRSA
Professional of the Year, PR Week
Lifetime Achievement Award, Holmes Report
50 Most Powerful People in PR, PR Week
Gold Anvil, PRSA

Articles

“Global Communication Report: Politics and Purpose,” author (2021)

“Global Communication Report: New Activism,” author (2020)

“Global Communication Report: PR: Tech, The Future of Technology in Communication,” author (2019)

“Global Communication Report: The Evolution of Ethics,” author (2018)

Books

Improvise: Unconventional Career Advice from an Unlikely CEO, author (2014)

Reports

The Relevance Report 2021, editor (2020)

The Relevance Report 2020, editor (2019)

The Relevance Report 2019, editor (2018)

Courses

PR 490: Directed Research
PR 590: Directed Research
PR 598: Improvisational Leadership