Advice from the PR Pros: Jon Iwata

The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication has conducted oral history interviews with dozens of the nation’s most influential public relations practitioners. The Page Center website features a vast collection of transcripts and videos of these interviews. On this blog, we will highlight some of the advice given by professionals on attaining positions in the field of public relations.

Jon Iwata leads IBM’s marketing, communications and citizenship organization. This global team is responsible for market insights, the marketing of IBM’s portfolio of products and services, communications and corporate affairs, and stewardship of the IBM brand, recognized as one of the most valuable in the world.

Jon and his team have led the development of IBM’s “Smarter Planet” strategy, which describes the company’s view of the next era of information technology and its impact on business and society.

Jon is a member of the Technology Committee of the Museum of Modern Art and is a trustee of the Arthur W. Page Society. From 2006-2007, he served as chairman of The Seminar, a professional group consisting of chief communications officers. He holds a B.A. from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at San Jose State University.

Ability to adapt key to long-term success

“Cars, by and large, are still four wheeled internal combustion engine things, right? Henry Ford would come back and recognize the basics of a car.”

“J.P. Morgan would come back and recognize – he may not approve – but he would recognize what a bank is supposed to do.”

“John Rockefeller would recognize an oil company for sure, largely unchanged.”

“But Tom Watson, Sr. would not recognize what we produce. I would like him to say I absolutely recognize the IBM Company, and it’s the same company because he put into motion a company that was never defined by the products we make. I think that’s hard to do.”

“I think one of the reasons why we’re trusted today and admired is the ability to keep ahead of changing times. Our role in that communication is not just to sort of message that… It’s to help identify those forces of change and then to mobilize the business to take advantage of them.”

“Being on the leading edge of change, and not victims of change, and not victims of our own inaction, I think is an important lesson in my career.”