Gabriel Stricker

Gabriel Stricker (born August 9, 1972) is Chief Communications Officer at Twitter, Inc., where he leads its global public policy and media relations efforts.[1] He is credited with having "turned around" Twitter's public reputation.[2]

Education

Stricker earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley[3] and his master's degree in International Affairs from Columbia University.[4]

Career

Stricker has been described as a "Zen Master" of marketing and communications,[5] and one of the "world’s leading"[6] marketers.[7] He was listed by the Holmes Report as one of the world's 100 most influential corporate communicators,[8] one of PRWeek's top-20 "Digital Influencers" for having "the greatest impact on communications",[9] one of the 20 most effective communications professionals by Business Insider[10] and In2’s "Innovator 25" for being one of the 25 "individuals who are shaping what influence and engagement will look like tomorrow."[11]

Stricker previously worked in campaign politics and was featured in the Discovery-Times documentary, Venezuela: Revolution in Progress about the 2004 Presidential Recall Referendum in Venezuela.[12] He currently sits on the board of the Center for Investigative Reporting.[13]

Twitter

Before Stricker arrived at Twitter, the service was widely viewed as vanquished in the marketplace.[14] Twitter CEO Dick Costolo told the Los Angeles Times, "So when Gabriel joined the company, it was like 'Your job: no dying birds on national magazine covers'."[15] Costolo and others in the industry credit Stricker with the turnaround in Twitter's public image.[16]

During Twitter's IPO process, Stricker was a central figure in its road show[17] and was responsible for having Twitter users ring the NYSE bell instead of Twitter executives—an unconventional decision which earned Twitter significant praise.[18] Stricker managed Twitter's IPO without the assistance of any external consultants,[19] as is the norm.[20]

While at Twitter, Stricker accepted the Radio Television Digital News Association's First Amendment Award,[21] and made frequent public remarks about free speech.[22]

Google

Prior to Twitter, Stricker was Director of Global Communications & Public Affairs at Google, Inc.,[23] where he was active on the issue of free expression[24] and frequently defended the company's refusal to censor information.[25] Stricker was at the center of several controversial episodes in Google’s development, including its Google Book Search Settlement Agreement[26] and criticisms surrounding Google’s alleged transformation into a media company.[27]

At Google, Stricker worked closely with Marissa Mayer,[28] and in the book Marissa Mayer And the Fight To Save Yahoo!, author Nicholas Carlson wrote that it was Stricker who first gave Mayer the idea to pursue the CEO role at Yahoo!.[29] Carlson claims that Stricker is one of the three people Mayer regularly relies on for advice (in addition to Mayer’s mother and Anna Wintour).[30]

Publications

Stricker is the author of the bestselling book on guerrilla marketing entitled, Mao In the Boardroom.[31] Publishers Weekly reviewed the book as "a curious amalgam of humor and business advice,"[32] and the Chicago Tribune said it "describes how capitalist warriors apply [Mao's theories] on the corporate battlefield today."[33] Time Magazine reported that Roc-A-Fella Records' Damon Dash and his advisors were initial consumers of the book.[34]

References

  1. ↑ "Twitter Executive Team:Stricker".
  2. ↑ Sudhaman, Arun. "Stricker takes on Twitter’s charge to one billion users". blog.holmesreport.com. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  3. ↑ "Twitter Executive Team:Stricker".
  4. ↑ "Gabriel Sticker | Columbia | SIPA". New.sipa.columbia.edu. 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  5. ↑ Shah, Aarti. "Twitter's Gabriel Stricker : Zen Master". Holmes Report. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  6. ↑ Vojvodich, Lynn (29 September 2014). "The Journey Is Everything: Lessons from the World's Leading CMOs". Forbes.com. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  7. ↑ "CMO Conversations with GE, Twitter, LinkedIn at Connections 2014". 23 September 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014. At Connections 2014 in Indianapolis...CMO Conversations with GE SVP & CMO Beth Comstock, Twitter Chief Communications Officer Gabriel Stricker, and LinkedIn VP of Marketing Nick Besbeas.
  8. ↑ "Gabriel Stricker". The Influence 100. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  9. ↑ "Digital influencers". PRWeek. Haymarket Media. Retrieved 1 October 2013. Gabriel Stricker VP, marketing communications, Twitter @gabrielstricker (16,203) Stricker is responsible for defining Twitter's messaging as it continues to expand and evolve as a global platform and commercial offering.
  10. ↑ "THE PR 50: The Most Effective Communications Professionals In Technology". Business Insider. 2012-07-24. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  11. ↑ "The Innovator 25: Gabriel Stricker". In2. Retrieved 16 October 2014. For being the strategic counselor that CEO Dick Costolo turned to, first, to lead Twitter’s charge towards one billion users; then to build — and execute — on the strategy for Twitter’s bell-ringing moment on the New York Stock Exchange; and now…to take over its prized media partnerships as its first chief communications officer. For a refreshingly modest take on a hyped Silicon Valley IPO that shifted the tone from self-congratulatory to humility.
  12. ↑ "Venezuela: Revolution in Progress". Yahoo! Screen. Retrieved 5 August 2014. A unique look into the forces that almost unseated President Hugo Chavez in a recall election during the summer of 2004.
  13. ↑ "CIR adds technology leadership to its board | The Center for Investigative Reporting". Cironline.org. 2011-11-10. Retrieved 2013-09-15. I'm thrilled to work with CIR to ensure that high-quality, unique and credible journalism flourishes,” Stricker said. “The progress we make in the coming years will have a hand in transforming journalism’s path in the decades ahead.
  14. ↑ "Trouble @Twitter". Media Bistro. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  15. ↑ Rodriguez, Salvador (10 July 2012). "Twitter CEO says company has 'a truckload of money'". Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  16. ↑ Shah, Aarti (25 April 2013). "Stricker takes on Twitter’s charge to one billion users". Homes Report. Retrieved 11 April 2014. Costolo – and some others in the industry – credit Stricker for doing just this.
  17. ↑ Demos, Telis (25 October 2013). "Twitter Preps its IPO Pitch to Investors". Retrieved 11 April 2014. Twitter CEO Dick Costolo arrives at Morgan Stanley's office in New York on Friday along with Gabriel Stricker, Twitter's vice president of marketing and communications.
  18. ↑ Hoge, Patrick (27 December 2013). "Executive of the Year: Dick Costolo". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 11 April 2014. Indeed, Costolo spent little time reveling that day. He didn’t even ring the NYSE bell, giving that privilege to three Twitter users (an idea he credits to company spokesman Gabriel Stricker). They were actor Patrick Stewart, a spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department and Vivienne Harr, a 9-year-old from Marin County who wore a princess dress to the opening and sells lemonade to fight child slavery.
  19. ↑ "Twitter: The Decision Not to Hire an Agency for the IPO". KPCB. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2015. Twitter VP of marketing and communications Gabriel Stricker discusses his reasons for going it alone on the company’s recent initial public offering, rather than hiring an outside firm for media relations support. Stricker says the need for agency support on an IPO has been reduced in the era of the JOBS Act.
  20. ↑ Shah, Aarti (22 October 2013). "Twitter Keeps IPO Comms In-house". Retrieved 5 August 2014. Since Gabriel Stricker joined Twitter in 2012 as head of comms, the company has largely eschewed agency relationships opting to keep most communications in-house… More commonly, tech companies have engaged high-profile financial communications firms during this period."
  21. ↑ Calo, Enid (14 March 2013). "RTDNF Honors Twitter, Siegel, Crowley, Dechard with First Amendment Awards". Retrieved 5 August 2014. The First Amendment Award went to Twitter, Inc. Gabriel Stricker, Twitter's Vice President of Communications, accepted the award, showing a video of Twitter's growing influence and comments from Chinese avctivist Ai Weiwei, who praised the micro-blogging serivice for giving people a voice. To journalists and activists, he said, “We hear you… we stand with all of you and we will continue to fight for your voices to be heard.”
  22. ↑ "Twitter and Free Speech: Gabriel Stricker talked about Twitter’s culture, policies, and effect on free speech around the world.". C-SPAN. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  23. ↑ "Spokespeople - Google Instant Press Site (Sept 2010)". Sites.google.com. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  24. ↑ Shah, Aarti (26 March 2010). "Google's China move affirms reputation". www.prweek.com. Haymarket Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 29 July 2014. “You have to go back to our IPO,” says Stricker, "...this is a different kind of company, run in a different way, and there are a handful of principles that we will stand for and if folks aren't comfortable with that they shouldn't be investors.”
  25. ↑ "The Battle For Santorum Transcript". On The Media. 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2013-09-15. “We don't remove a page from our search results simply because the content is unpopular. We really just want the results to be a reflection of what's available out there on the Web.”
  26. ↑ Kolakowski, Nicholas (10 June 2009). "Google Receives Federal Request for Book Settlement Info". Retrieved 6 February 2015. The Department of Justice and several state attorneys general have contacted us to learn more about the impact of the settlement, and we are happy to answer their questions," Gabriel Stricker, a Google spokesperson, said in a statement. "It's important to note that this agreement is nonexclusive and, if approved by the court, stands to expand access to millions of books in the U.S.
  27. ↑ Helft, Miguel (10 August 2008). "Is Google a Media Company?". Retrieved 7 February 2015. “Our vision still remains to be the best conduit that we can be, connecting people between whatever their search is and the answer they are looking for,” Mr. Stricker said. “For that reason, we are not interested in owning or creating content.”
  28. ↑ Roose, Kevin (8 September 2011). "New-Form Press Release, in Blog, Tweet and Haiku". New York Times. Retrieved 6 April 2015. Marissa Mayer, Google’s top executive for local and location services, initially wrote a more traditional Twitter message and Google+ post about the Zagat acquisition, jotting it down after a flight from California to New York. But when she ran the ideas past Gabriel Stricker, a Google spokesman, they got panned as boring. He recommended a more poetic approach, like a haiku.
  29. ↑ Brandon, John (13 March 2015). "10 Quotes From the Best Business Books of 2015". Retrieved 6 April 2015. Then one day in September 2011, Mayer got an idea. It came from Gabriel Stricker, the soft-spoken PR hand from the world of politics...He asked [Mayer] if she had heard the news about Yahoo. Carol Bartz had been fired. Mayer said she had. Stricker said, quietly, 'You should pursue that job'." He said: You're exactly the kind of technologist that company has always needed.... The board also asked Citrin to approach Google's Marissa Mayer....Mayer thought back to her conversation with Gabriel Stricker nine months before. Citrin said: You aren't interested in this are you? Mayer said: Actually, I am.
  30. ↑ Joseph, Devan (10 April 2015). "The 3 people Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer leans on for advice". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 April 2015. Business Insider's chief correspondent and author of "Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo!" Nicholas Carlson reveals the three people Marissa Mayer relies on for advice.
  31. ↑ Stricker, Gabriel. "Mao In the Boardroom: Marketing Genius from the Mind of the Master Guerilla". St. Martin's Press. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  32. ↑ "Reviews: 978-0-312-31085-1". Publishers Weekly. 1 June 2003. Retrieved 27 February 2014. A curious amalgam of humor and business advice, Stricker's book should appeal to little guys thinking about going up against the big dogs.
  33. ↑ Rose, Devin (29 June 2003). "Wwmd?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 24 September 2013. Stricker lays out Mao's theories, then describes how capitalist warriors apply them on the corporate battlefield today
  34. ↑ Gregory, Sean (1 December 2003). "Dashing Diversification". TIME Magazine. Retrieved 17 April 2014. ...A marketing guy is reading Mao in the Boardroom, while two others flip through a branding book. Dash punches at his BlackBerry. "This is the smallest jet we'll ever be on," he says.