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Al Golin

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A veteran of over 50 years in the public relations industry, Al Golin is chairman of Chicago-based GolinHarris, which has 34 offices around the world.

In addition to handling the McDonald’s account for over 50 years, GolinHarris represents such companies as British Petroleum, Dow Chemical Co., Florida Department of Citrus, General Mills, GlaxoSmithKline, Kaiser Permanente, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle, Nintendo, Orange, PetSmart, Playtex, Sargento, Shire, Texas Instruments, Toyota, Unilever and Wal-Mart.

As a consultant to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Al’s work centered on a major public relations awareness program for U.S. companies on the benefits of exporting to help our economy, increase employment and reduce the balance of trade deficit.

Al is a member of the board of trustees of the Goodman Theatre of Chicago and Roosevelt University, a founding board member of Ronald McDonald House Charities and public relations advisor to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

He is also a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, the Public Relations Seminar and the Public Relations Society of America.

He has lectured at Princeton University, Dartmouth College, Yale University, Northwestern University, New York University and the Annenberg Communication School at the University of Southern California.

Al received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Public Relations Society of America, Publicity Club of Chicago and Inside PR magazine.

Al was named one of the 100 most influential public relations people of the twentieth century by the industry trade magazine PR Week, and he received the Arthur W. Page Society Hall of Fame Award for “Career Achievements and Outstanding Contributions to the Profession.”

Al was honored with the prestigious Gold Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America. The Gold Anvil is the society's highest individual award. He was recently awarded the Alexander Hamilton Medal from the Institute for Public Relations.

His book, Trust or Consequences, published by Amacon Books, is currently in distribution.