Kevin Shinkle

Over the course of his journalism and corporate communications career, Kevin Shinkle has done all three. As Business Editor of The Associated Press and The Star-Ledger in Newark (NJ), he produced stories about some of the biggest events of our time, from 9/11 to the Great Recession. As Chief Communications Officer at Delta Air Lines, he created the U.S. airline industry’s first true News Hub, marrying journalistic techniques to corporate goals and helping propel Delta to soaring consumer satisfaction scores. As the CCO of the Knights of Columbus, one of the nation’s largest charities and a $25 billion insurance company, he led a surge in social media audiences and won a regional Emmy Award as the executive producer of a documentary on the organization’s Warriors to Lourdes program.

Whether in the newsroom or the C-suite, Kevin has always believed that the art of good communications starts with this: “Tell me a story.” Topics come and go. New techniques are developed. There are good times and bad. But the one thing that never changes is that your audiences want to hear a story. Your story.

A native of Tucson, Arizona, Kevin graduated with honors from Hillsdale College with a double major in history and political theory. His journalism career began at a weekly newspaper in North Carolina, with one of the all-time great names: The Gold Leaf Farmer. From there it was on to The Chapel Hill Newspaper, The Tampa Tribune and Bloomberg News, before joining The Star-Ledger and then eventually leaping the Hudson River to Manhattan and the AP.

When it comes to PR, he has deep experience in counseling CEOs, crisis communications and issues management, but it’s telling those stories that move hearts, minds and markets that are his greatest passion. That and his never-ending quest to break 80 on the golf course.

If it’s a history book, Kevin will read it. If it has a scoreboard, he’ll watch it – whether it’s the Philadelphia teams, Ivy League basketball or his Arizona Wildcats. He has served on the Boards of Directors of the Society of Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW) and the Georgia Foreign Trade Zone and the finance committee of St. Ignatius parish in Yardley.