BIOGRAPHY

Phil Gomes
Vice President, Senior Counsel, Online Communications
Edelman

Phil Gomes’ successful career in the corporate communications field is characterized by his passionate interest in technology, media, and emerging forms of communications. He serves as Edelman’s Vice President & Senior Counsel, Online Communications, working from the agency’s offices in Los Angeles, Calif.

Phil is responsible for crafting the online engagement policies and standards for the agency and its clients, as well as serving as an in-house educator and counselor with regard to blogs, social media, and online communities. He is considered by most participants in the public relations profession to be the first in the field to start a blog – August 2001.

Phil enjoys wide industry recognition as an expert on the intersection of emerging media technologies and corporate communications, having been quoted in Release 1.0, PR News, Ragan's Media Relations Report, San Jose Mercury News, Electronic Business, San Francisco Magazine, and other outlets. As a speaker on this topic, Phil has presented to the Forbes Forum For Dynamic Mid-Sized Companies, the Public Relations Society Of America (PRSA), BusinessWire’s Media Breakfast Series, San Francisco State University, and Golden Gate University. His MediaMap ExpertPR article, “Using RSS for Corporate Communications”, has been widely referenced as one of the very first texts that describe the PR potential of online syndication techniques.

Over the past decade, Phil has worked with such innovative companies as SRI International, Matrix Semiconductor, Cornice, CopperEye, Adaptec, and Hitachi Semiconductor. During this time, Phil gained a comprehensive familiarity with several key technology sectors, including semiconductors, wireless, data storage, consumer electronics, open-source software, R&D, enterprise software, and PC hardware, as well as vertical industries such as pharmaceuticals, materials, and energy. Phil’s work has not only resulted in greatly heightened publicity for his clients, but increased business development for them as well.

Phil received a B.A. in communications from Saint Mary’s College of California, graduating at the top of his department, and is currently pursuing an M.A. in communications management from the University Of Southern California’s Annenberg School For Communication. He is a senior advisor for the Society for New Communications Research, which launched in November 2005.

Phil has played the guitar for more than fifteen years and has a working knowledge of several musical genres.