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Kent
Jarrell

Strategic Communications Consultant

Kent Jarrell, strategic communications consultant and the former global head of APCO’s Crisis Management and Litigation Communications practice, currently assists CEOs, general counsels, other executives, and boards of directors on the preparation for unfolding material events.

Mr. Jarrell previously served as the litigation communications advisor for a global health care company in the ongoing opioid litigation and as the crisis communications advisor for Merck, Ford, eBay, Alaska Airlines and ExxonMobil. He was also the communications advisor for Constellation Energy in its merger with Exelon Corporation and contract negotiation with EDF, the French utility. Additionally he was the advisor and spokesman for the liquidation trustees for MF Global Inc. and Lehman Brothers, Inc., as well as the advisor to Hewlett-Packard’s board of directors during the resignation of the company’s CEO, the spokesman and communications advisor to the Hershey Trust Company Board of Directors, and advisor to the President of Mexico during the H1N1 epidemic in Mexico City.

As a broadcast journalist for more than 20 years, Mr. Jarrell was a national correspondent and reported on crises including the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island and the crash of TWA flight 800. Based in Washington, D.C., Mr. Jarrell reported from 41 states and 13 countries and covered five U.S. presidents. He also produced radio documentaries for the BBC.

Mr. Jarrell received a Master of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and a Bachelor of Science in Public Communications with a concentration in history from Boston University’s School of Public Communications. He also attended colleges and universities in Switzerland and the United Kingdom. He is the lead author of “Effectively Managing the Social Media Invasion of the Legal System” in the In-House Defense Quarterly published by the Defense Research Institute and authored “Litigation Communication: A Road Map to Emerging Art” published by the National Legal Center. He has been recognized by PRWeek as Crisis Communicator of the Year.