4.17.2007 - 11:00am ET

(CSRwire) BOSTON, MA - April 17, 2007 – Liz Gorman has joined Cone's staff as Vice President, Corporate Responsibility (CR). Gorman brings with her a wealth of CR reporting and communications experience. She will lead Cone's team that helps companies plan, research, write, and publish corporate responsibility reports. She will also serve as a senior member of the agency’s CR discipline working with clients.

"Liz is a pioneer in the field of CR reporting and communications. Over the past six years, she has helped a variety of corporations take leadership positions," says Mike Lawrence, executive vice president of Corporate Responsibility at Cone.

As founder and principal of Gorman Communications, a firm she established in 2000, Liz served as a communications consultant to Fortune 500 corporations in the areas of social, environmental, and ethical responsibility. She worked closely with clients to develop strategic communications that provided greater visibility for key initiatives through CR reporting and transparency, collateral development, and stakeholder engagement.

Ms. Gorman has worked extensively with Starbucks Coffee Company to develop thematic directions and content for its widely recognized Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports and provided additional communications counsel to the company's top leadership. She has also led teams and consulted on CR reporting projects for clients including Chevron, Eli Lilly and Company, Sun Microsystems, REI, Inc., Mattel, Inc., and White Memorial Medical Center.

Prior to launching Gorman Communications, Liz spent five years at Eddie Bauer, Inc., first as a public relations advisor and later as head of the company's community affairs efforts. She promoted the Eddie Bauer brand through media placements and company-wide sponsorships, including the company's Global ReLeaf cause branding initiative, and built strategic alliances with community and civic organizations. She ended her tenure as an executive manager to the president/CEO, focusing on company-oriented high performance initiatives.

"I am thrilled to join Cone," says Liz Gorman. "While working with my clients on both CR strategy and communications, I constantly saw the need for these two areas to be connected – and for CR to be solidly aligned with the brand. Cone in particular does this well by ensuring a company’s CR strategy is established to support its business objectives, strengthen stakeholder relationships, build brand trust, and enhance corporate reputation."

Since its founding over a quarter century ago, Cone has demonstrated a commitment to helping companies create positive social change. The agency pioneered the concept of "Cause Branding℠" and helped create programs including ConAgra Foods Feeding Children Better, the Reebok Human Rights Awards, Avon Breast Cancer Crusade and the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women campaign. Today Cone also works with companies such as Starbucks, Mattel, Sodexho and Nestlé Waters North America to develop CR strategies and communications.

"In today's competitive environment, creating innovative CR strategies and communications helps protect a company, enhance its reputation, and create new business opportunities," says Jens Bang, president and CEO of Cone.

Cone LLC. (www.coneinc.com) is a strategy and communications agency engaged in building brand trust. Cone creates stakeholder loyalty and long-term relationships through the development and execution of Corporate Responsibility, Cause Branding℠, Brand Marketing and Crisis Prevention and Management initiatives. Cone is a member of the Omnicom Group.

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