The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has announced the appointment of William (Bill) Murray as its new president and COO. Murray will serve as the top staff executive of the Manhattan-based PRSA, the world's largest organization for public relations professionals. An association executive with more than 20 years of experience, Murray was executive vice president and co-chief operating officer of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), the international trade association representing the international interests of the major Hollywood studios. Most recently, he served as a senior fellow at the USC Center for the Digital Future, and president of William Murray & Associates, a media and entertainment policy consulting firm. "We are pleased to welcome an association executive with Bill's experience and accomplishments to PRSA," said Cheryl Procter-Rogers, APR, Fellow PRSA, the Society's chair and CEO. "He brings a unique blend of association management and communications expertise, along with an extensive knowledge of the new digital communications arena."In his new role, Murray will work closely with the 2007 PRSA board of directors, volunteer leadership and staff to carry forward the Society's strategic initiatives and its mission of advancing the public relations profession and the professional. During his time at the MPA, Murray was instrumental in designing a framework for Hollywood to respond to the challenges presented by changing technology. He designed the MPA's first strategic plan and worked with a variety of foreign governments on film production and trade policy. He held a series of positions at the MPA that included responsibility for the Association's international operations, strategic planning, market research and digital strategy.Murray has served on the board of such key industry organizations such as the Association of International Collective Management of Audiovisual Works (AGICOA), the Copyright Collective of Canada and the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).He holds a dual-discipline B.A. in Business Administration and English Literature from Albright College in Reading, Penn., and an M.B.A. in International Management from Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management in Glendale, Ariz. "We owe special thanks to the PRSA leaders on our executive search committee, led by Dr. Debra Miller, APR, Fellow PRSA, who worked countless hours with the search firm of Spencer Stuart over the past year," said Procter-Rogers. The global executive search firm was retained to recruit, screen and evaluate potential candidates for the position that was vacated by former PRSA president and COO Catherine Bolton. "I am extremely pleased that the process resulted in the hiring of an industry professional of Bill's extraordinary caliber," said Miller, who served as PRSA president in 1997. Murray will officially begin his role as president and COO on Jan. 22, 2007.Dopo una ricerca durata mesi, la più grande associazione di professionisti delle relazioni pubbliche del mondo ha scelto William Murray, già vice direttore della Motion Picture Association, membro anziano del Center for the Digital Future e presidente della William Murray & Associates.
