Carol Cone

Carol Cone is CEO of Carol Cone ON PURPOSE. Previously, she was Global Practice Chair of Edelman Business + Social Purpose, where she was responsible for Edelman’s CSR, sustainability, and citizenship offering worldwide. She provided strategic counsel to clients including Microsoft, Adobe, American Lung Association, Southwest Airlines, PNC, and Unilever.

Previously Cone served as CEO and Chairman of Cone, Inc., the cause branding consultancy she founded. There she led a team that developed social initiatives for Avon, Reebok, ConAgra Foods, PNC, Western Union, P & G, Microsoft, and the American Heart Association that generated high awareness, stakeholder engagement, and more than $1.5 billion for prevalent social issues. For these efforts, PR Week called her “arguably the most powerful and visible figure in the world of Cause Branding.”

Cone speaks often on the topics of cause branding and corporate citizenship and her recognitions include: 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics, Ethisphere Magazine; 25 Most Powerful Professionals in the Communications Industry, PRWeek; Changing the Game Award, Advertising Women of New York; Lifetime Achievement Awards, The Holmes Report and PR News; 50 Most Powerful Women in Public Relations, PRWeek; and Entrepreneur of the Year, Arthur Young/Venture Magazine.

In addition to earning her B.A. and M.A. degrees, she also completed the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard Business School.