Richard Edelman

Richard Edelman
Edelman at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, 2011
Born	Richard Winston Edelman (1954-06-15) June 15, 1954 (age 62) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Residence	New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Harvard University
Occupation	President and CEO of Edelman
Years active	1978–present
Spouse(s)	Engaged Claudia Gonzalez Romo 2017
Children	3
Parent(s)	Daniel J. Edelman Ruth Edelman
Website	Richard Edelman

Richard Winston Edelman (born June 15, 1954) is the President & Chief Executive Officer of the public relations company Edelman, a position he has held since September 1996.

Richard Edelman is the son of Daniel Edelman the founder of the public relations company, Edelman, and his wife Ruth Ann (Rozumoff).

Richard was born on June 15, 1954 and was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy. He married Rosalind Anne Walrath on May 18, 1986 at the Harvard Club of New York. His wife is the daughter of the then-creative director of advertising agency JWT, and was a Vice President at the investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods when they wed. He has three daughters. In 2008 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer but had successful surgery. In April 2015 it was reported that he is in the midst of a divorce.

His two siblings, John and Renee, are also executives at Edelman, making Edelman the largest private, family-run public relations firm in the world.

Richard Edelman joined the Edelman firm in 1978 after receiving his MBA from Harvard, where he had also studied as an undergraduate. He had intended to take a job in marketing at Playtex, but his father persuaded him to join the family company. He was an executive at Edelman by 1981 and in 1983, he was appointed president of Edelman's New York Office. He was appointed president of the company in 1985. His father remained as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). At that time, the company's income was only $14.2 million. He pledged to keep the company independent at a time when many other PR companies were being bought by advertising agencies. He later became the regional manager of Europe before being promoted to CEO in September 1996, a post that he still holds today.

Edelman is a regular attendee at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, having attended 9 times by 2007. In January 2012, he presented to leaders in world governments and chief executives, and his main message to them was that, based on a survey by his company, the public do not trust governments and business executives anymore - they are the least trusted of any group.