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Mark Penn

Mark Penn is worldwide CEO of Burson-Marsteller and President of Penn, Schoen and Berland.  As CEO of Burson-Marsteller, Mark Penn oversees a global network of 94 offices and 1600 employees that brings world-class public relations to companies around the world. As President of PSB, a position he has held since 1975 when he was an undergraduate at Harvard, Mark Penn focuses on providing research-based communications strategy to political figures, corporations and crisis situations.

Mark Penn has been called “Master of the Message” by Time Magazine; “The king of polls” by the London Times; an “incandescent intellect” by the New York Times. On his wall are notes saying “you were brilliant” from Tony Blair after his historic third win and “thanks” from Bill Clinton after his impeachment acquittal along with photos of Penn working with CEOs including Bill Gates and Bill Ford, Jr. The Washington Post, in “Politics and Policy by the Numbers” summed up his influence in the White House and the corporate boardroom as a “unique vantage point: adviser to the preeminent innovator of the past decade in the realm of politics, Bill Clinton, and the preeminent innovator in the realm of business and technology, Bill Gates.”

The techniques applied to these political and corporate battles were honed from early major corporate experiences with AT&T, Texaco and others. In the “Guru of Small Things” the New York Times explains how Mark Penn has combined innovative techniques of micro-targeting, issue-based messaging and visual message testing to win major corporate, marketing and political battles.

Today, Mark Penn serves as strategic consultant to several Fortune 500 companies and CEOs on a wide range of image, branding and corporate reputation issues. He has been a key adviser to Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer since 1998, helping Microsoft affect a complete corporate turnaround from anti-trust scandal to Most Trusted Company (Wall Street Journal).

Mark Penn has helped to elect over 25 leaders in the United States, Asia, Latin America and Europe. Currently, he serves as Chief Strategist to Senator Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. About his work for her the Washington Post writes, “Penn also has everything that Clinton would want in a senior consultant: undisputed brilliance and experience.” He has worked with Senator Clinton for years, including the polling and messaging for both of her successful US Senate campaigns. Previously, he was as advisor to Prime Minister Tony Blair, helping achieve an unprecedented third term win for Labour in the United Kingdom. He is also well known for serving as President Clinton’s pollster and political adviser for the 1996 re-election campaign and throughout the second term of the administration.

Mark Penn won the Pollster of the Year award, given every 4 years, in both 1996 and 2000, the top honor in his profession, from the American Association of Political Consultants. Mr. Penn has written for publications including the New York Times and the Washington Post, and has appeared frequently on networks including CNN and Fox News.

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