Longtime PR leader, now academic, Torod Neptune joins Page Center board

Torod Neptune, a professor of strategic communications, business and reputation risk management at UNC-Chapel Hill, joined the Page Center’s advisory board in August. Neptune offers research expertise and practitioner experience in advising C-suite executives on ethical communication practices.

The advisory board includes 19 members with backgrounds in areas such as public relations, journalism, advertising, nonprofit organizations and academia. It consists of both scholars and practitioners. This allows the Center to connect research about communication ethics with the real-world challenges that professionals face. This supports the Page Center’s mission of advancing ethics, integrity and responsibility in public communication.

“Torod brings an international perspective, executive experience and a history of values-based leadership to the advisory board,” said Denise Bortree, Page Center director. “His scholarship and experience in the profession will make his insights truly unique, and we are thrilled that Torod is joining the board.”

After graduating from the University of South Carolina, Neptune began his career creating communications campaigns for companies in the Washington, D.C., area, including Hager Sharp and Weber Shandwick. He then moved into a senior vice president role in global corporate marketing and communications at Bank of America, where he provided counsel to the company CEO and business unit presidents.

Neptune said balancing the business’s needs with ethical communication was a day-to-day challenge that required a clear understanding of his responsibilities.

“We tend to often be the sole voice who believes there is accountability that the organization needs to have for both the revenue-generating side of things and the kind of balance of, is it fair? Is it responsible?” Neptune said.

He continued to serve as this voice in organizations. He was director of strategic & crisis communications for the U.S. House of Representatives and senior vice president & global public affairs practice leader for Waggener Edstrom Worldwide. He also held multiple vice president roles within Verizon.

“I think it has required a commitment to have that voice and to speak that voice in the rooms where it’s not often welcome,” Neptune said. “And in some ways, in rooms where it’s challenged because it can run counter to what’s perceived to be best for the business.”

Neptune said the concept of leadership courage is increasingly significant when facing difficult conversations head-on.

“It’s hard, but I do think that’s a distinction you get to at some point in your career as well, where you have become more committed to not wanting to go along,” Neptune said. “But to be the police person in the room for these kinds of things.”

Neptune held CCO roles at large corporations, including Lenovo and Medtronic. He worked as part of executive committees to promote ethical marketing and communications perspectives.

Having recently stepped into a research position at UNC-Chapel Hill in August of 2025, Neptune brings a unique perspective to the advisory board.

After years of driving organizational transformations, Neptune said he wants to use his experience to educate students.

“My primary focus is on redesigning the curriculum to align with the market, or the private sector needs, to match expectations of the workforce in the future,” Neptune said.

In addition to his role at UNC-Chapel Hill, Neptune founded Neptune & Company, a senior advisory firm that provides strategic counsel to CEOs and C-suite leaders.

“I continue to stay attached to the highest level of an organization and the CEO and board issues around the discussions about what’s right and what’s wrong,” Neptune said. “And the role of business in a society that’s being challenged ethically and morally.”