The integral role of communications professionals to business success

Leslie Cafferty, chief communications officer of Booking Holdings Inc., the world's largest global travel company, joins On Top of PR host Jason Mudd to discuss the pivotal role of communications professionals in business success and growth. 

Tune in to learn more!

Our Guest:

Our episode guest is Leslie Cafferty, chief communications officer at Booking Holdings Inc., the world's largest global travel company. She’s also the executive sponsor for the company’s employee resource group dedicated to equality and equity for women across the organization. Booking Holdings Inc. brands include Booking.com, Priceline, OpenTable, Kayak, and Agoda. 

Five things you’ll learn from this episode:

1. Differentiating marketing and communications in business
2. Strategies to help with the rising cost of labor and doing business
3. Tips for aspiring chief communication officers
4.Evolving trends in communications
5. The importance of diversity in communications and business

Quotables

• “The art of what we do is storytelling. You could be writing a speech for a CEO, messaging points for a lawsuit, or sharing a consumer product story. That’s art. You have to think creatively.”  — @Leslie Cafferty

• “Rising tide floats all boats. More data out there about travel, booking travel, and best practices probably inspire someone to want to go on a trip.” — @Jason Mudd

• “It’s all about collaboration with the business. Communications is not seen anymore as just a subset of marketing — we have a seat at the table in leadership meetings.”   — @Leslie Cafferty

• “Anything you say can create or destroy value in seconds. Our role and expertise is about doing more creating than destroying.” — @Leslie Cafferty

• “The skills, talents, and responsibilities haven’t changed, just the tools, platform, and speed at which you can communicate with your audience has increased, therefore making every move you make more critical and potentially vulnerable.” — @Jason Mudd

About Leslie Cafferty

A 20-year tech company veteran with a passion for communications, marketing, and promoting more diversity in business, Leslie Cafferty is the senior vice president and chief communications officer for Booking Holdings, Inc., the world’s largest global travel company, known for brands such as Priceline, Booking.com, Kayak, OpenTable, and Agoda. Cafferty oversees all corporate, financial, brand, crisis, CEO, executive, and internal communications initiatives for the company, which operates in more than 200 countries. She’s also the executive sponsor for the company’s employee resource group dedicated to equality and equity for women across the organization.

Previously, Cafferty was the global vice president of marketing and communications at Nielsen, the world’s leading global research company. Before Nielsen, she spent eight years as the director of global communications for IAC, a leading internet company operating more than 25 market-leading digital brands. She attended Harvard Business School and graduated magna cum laude from Lehigh Univers