Ben Trounson

Mixing Board

Invite-only community of communications and marketing leaders, elevating the business impact of the functions, sharing expertise, and providing mentorship.

Member

Daikin U.S. Corporation

VP, Head of Corporate Communications

Verizon

VP, Head of Global Communications, Verizon Business

Bristol Myers Squibb

VP, Head of International Corporate Affairs

Tata Consultancy Services

Head of Global Markets Corporate Communications

Head of North American Corporate Communications

Finn Partners

Partner, Technology Practice

Hill & Knowlton

SVP, Director of NYC Marketing Communications Practice

Ketchum

VP, Client Service Director

Taylor Global

Account Director

Kodora Communications

Media Manager

VP, Global Corporate Communications with 20+ years of experience leading corporate affairs across internal, external, executive, and crisis communications strategies. Deploying diverse global brand plans, thought leadership campaigns, employee culture and change initiatives, product GTMs, and partner programs for Verizon, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Tata Consultancy Services, among others. A team builder and mentor, and C-suite advisor, creating data-led strategies to transform business impact and drive enterprise collaboration, engagement, advocacy, reputation, and revenue.

Vice President of Communications, Verizon Business

Time with family is so important. I spent last week in England visiting my father on the coast of Cornwall near Land's End.  

We all work hard, but need to prioritize some time to make more memories. I enjoyed the basics. Walks across the beach cliffsides, board games, ancient pubs, Cornish pasties (yum), and lots of rain... 

But more than anything, just time talking with my father. I heard stories about his childhood and family history that I had never heard before... after all these years. You don't get these moments until you slow down and disconnect, even for a day or two. 

With Thanksgiving this week, I'm wishing all U.S. friends and colleagues a wonderful time with their families. Try finding some quality 1-1 time with your parents or grandparents and ask about their childhood. You might hear a few amazing stories for the first time, and be able to pass them on!

#family #history #storytelling

VP & Global Head of Corporate Communications | Reputation & Issues Management Expert | Former Verizon, National Grid, TCS | C-Suite Advisor | Driving Trusted Brands & Teams

I had a blast at the Axios Communicators Live NYC event last night. 

A few quick highlights from the main stage sessions:

1. Anthropic's Sasha de Marigny was refreshingly transparent: they’re not entirely “Claudifying” comms; they’re hiring an AI ops role to support strategic humans.

2. Ray Day, APR of Allison Worldwide noted two-thirds of comms leaders work with CEOs on major decisions. As a profession, we need to consistently add value and demonstrate business acumen and impact to increase these numbers! 

3. Meridith Webster of Estée Lauder stated that corporate narrative builds trust, and brand activations make them human. Strong comms blends both.

Cheers to Eleanor Hawkins and Hope King for hosting.  
 
Thanks to Amanda Coffee and Joanie Sanders for such a fun and packed comms happy hour before the Axios event.

And it was lovely to see so many friends and former colleagues: Daniel Méndez Aróstica, MBA, Daniel Nestle, Todd Grossman, Shauna Elkin, Abenaa (Abby) Hayes (she/her/hers), Brooke Kruger, Selena Strandberg, Ben Rose, Leah Katz, Ethan McCarty, Maril Gagen MacDonald.

December kicks off a week of communications events in NYC.

I enjoyed a fun session last night, meeting fellow comms pros and sharing POVs on a host of topics. Thank you Amanda Coffee, APCO NY and Ragan Communications and PR Daily for hosting.

This Wednesday, Edelman has the global launch of its latest Trust Barometer Flash Poll at 11 am EST (AI at an inflection point). 

And on Thursday, Axios is hosting its 4th annual Communicators Live event in NYC. A great line-up of speakers, comms leaders emerging as vital trusted advisors as companies face:
- Siloed audiences
- Political polarization
- Cultural complexities
- Workplace transformation
- And, yes, AI disruption

Looking forward to seeing many former colleagues and friends on Dec 4.

The Chief Communications Officer has become a strategic sense-maker, tasked with navigating a polycrisis of fused geopolitical, societal, and technological risk. 

This was one of several key points that jumped out in the Ipsos Reputation Council Report 2025. It's worth the read. Few other findings of note.

- With non-stop social fragmentation and issue cycles, business leaders are embracing strategic silence more often — not as avoidance, but as a deliberate act of prioritization and navigation of a pragmatic ESG era. 

- Today's communications leaders have been pushed far beyond functional expertise, helping organizations interpret fast-moving risks, look around corners, align internally, and act with clarity in moments that matter.

#communicationsleadership #strategiccommunications #crisiscommunications

The “17, 70, 0” rule just reframed my view of the jobs vs AI debate.

In the latest Trending Communicator episode, Daniel Nestle’s guest, Chris Gee, reminded us that our economy still runs on people (their work, income and participation). 

Chris cited the 17, 70, 0 rule:
17 → $17T in U.S. consumer spend
70 → 70% of U.S. GDP depends on it
0 → what AI will spend 

What does this mean? The US economy depends upon people having jobs and incomes to buy things. AI and agents won't be these "consumers" of goods.  

My take? We need significant coordination across industries, governments, academia, and NGOs to reskill and upskill at scale. 

Every major tech shift has displaced jobs and created new ones — but the speed and scale of displacement this time really raises the stakes and legit concerns.

And for those just entering the workforce, I feel for them. We owe the next generation more pathways to secure roles, learn and grow. 

Check out the episode (details in comments).

#strategiccommunications #AIincomms #futureofwork #AIjobs

Comms leaders are now the shock absorbers of the enterprise. 

I joined hundreds of Mixing Board, powered by Axios members who participated in the new Communicators Report by Axios and Gravity Research. The findings are telling. 

Communicators are now managing the collision of five defining forces:
 → Misinformation and disinformation (71%, cited as the top reputational risk)
 → Hyper-charged geopolitical and regulatory scrutiny
 → Rapid AI disruption
 → A splintered media landscape
 → Workforce anxiety

The role is shifting from chief storyteller to chief stability officer — keeping organizations aligned, focused and credible as external pressure intensifies.

At the same time, employee communications is becoming the backbone of trust, not a secondary channel. 

AI is no longer experimental in comms — it’s operational. And how transparently and responsibly it’s used now directly impacts credibility, inside and out.

Not surprisingly, Fortune 100 CEOs are also taking a more pragmatic stance on societal and political issues.

Thanks Eleanor Hawkins for compiling and sharing your thoughts via Mixing Board.

#CommunicationsLeadership #AIinComms #Reputation #CorporateCommunications

Avasta Incorporated

Avasta is The Profitable Growth Company, the inventor of the Winnable Addressable Market (WAM) solution which exists at the intersection of measuring buyer-led demand, time-based financial analysis and strategic valuation.  Our clients are able to deploy budgets and capital more effectively with our expertise than without, resulting in substantial ROI.

Our expertise in understanding the spectrum of intellectual property and intellectual capital being current and future drivers of value and how to reconcile between market-demand led value vs IP differentiation.

WAM enables our clients to get out of estimates and assumptions and understand where, when, why, how, and how quickly they can target there highest value customers instead of making assumptions based solely on 3rd party TAM estimates.

Our Strategic Valuation offering enables clients understand how to credibly benchmark themselves for fundraise, exits, and mergers from the lens of present and potential, future valuation. 

Our clients are able to articulate their business value with clarity and confidence and identify risks and opportunities often missed by others.

Founder & CEO

DealEngine

I get to support an inspiring team developing the next generation of assessment tools to enable founders and entrepreneurs to successfully seek investors to support them realizing their goals and passions for their business.

I was asked to join as an advisor to provide my expertise in data, risk and financial modelling to build out the most effective and least biased solution to enable entrepreneurs of all backgrounds to realize their success based on their idea and merit.

Member of Advisory Board, AI & Risk Modelling

iVirtual Technologies

Member of the Advisory Board

University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies

Developed and lecture on a post-graduate course called "The Finance of Brand Management"​ as part of the University of Toronto's Brand Management Certificate Program.  This course is the first of its kind in North America and integrates the disciplines of corporate finance, forecasting, market research, brand management, and brand evaluation into a single organizational competency.  

The focus of the course is to educate marketers and brand owners on the leading-edge macro and micro factors that influence financial decision making in managing brands.  It also trains them on the usage of market research and statistical analysis to inform decision-making.

Present students are brand owners or aspiring brand professionals in numerous industries including technology, banking, FinTech, CPG, financial services, and non-profit.

Course Developer & Graduate Lecturer, The Finance of Brand Management

MASB - Marketing Accountability Standards Board

Advisor

SITO Mobile

Forbes CMO Practice

Establishing ways to measure, communicate and optimize the contribution of marketing investment to shareholder value.

Forbes Marketing Accountability Initiative--Steering Committee Member

Strata Insights Inc.

Strata Insights Inc. is the only company that assesses all aspects of corporate activity to prove, predict and amplify the financial contribution of Brand to the bottom line.  Strata Insights’ Brand Economics approach looks at methodologies and data, including mathematical, econometric, investor relations, linguistic, behavioral and perceptual, to financially quantify strategic Brand opportunities.  In essence, we help you "moneyball your Brand".

Strata's Brand Economics model indicates the financial benefits of Brand expenditure versus tactical expenditure; what positioning has the best revenue potential and many other strategic insights.  

Strata Insights is heavily involved in establishing industry standards (Forbes, MASB, FASB and ISO) to help visionary executives recognize the financial importance and credibility of Brand in transforming how businesses operate.  For more information visit www.stratainsights.com

As the CEO & Chief Brand Economist, I led the development of rigorous financial, perceptual, behavioral and linguistic tools to identify category, peer and internal relationships.

CEO & Chief Brand Economist

Brand Finance

Brand Finance helps clients measure, manage, maximize and monitor their brands to drive business performance.

Responsibilities included:

► Building the marketplace for brand valuation and brand measurement practices.
► Leading client engagement to identify the appropriate Brand Finance service offering/solution.
► Speaking at universities and industry conferences.
► Providing subject matter expertise for media commentary, including TV, radio, print (BNN, CBC, Report on Business Magazine, The Globe & Mail, TMCNet.com, Luxury Daily, CTV, The Dallas Morning News, Yahoo Finance and The Huffington Post).

During my tenure, the North American office doubled business growth every year.

Managing Director, North America

Obsidian Corp

As an entrepreneur, I had a number of freelance client relationships.  During the course of a year 
I was the Acting Controller for an environmental engineering firm.  I worked for a university and advised on a couple of consultancies:

► Cleaned up 9-months of financial reporting challenges in about 90-days.
► Helped client to set up their year end reporting and integration with SAP.  
► Developed a model for management to assess the effectiveness of their business development investment. 
► Developed an analytics model for the student compliance department to understand how to better plan formal interactions with their students.

Director, Founder

I operate at the intersection of understanding market and customer demand, IP, finance and valuation.  If you appreciate that, read on.

As Avasta's CEO and Founder I am deeply passionate about fellow business leaders having the right knowledge and expertise to build businesses that drive growth and prosperity. 

Today much of my focus is on identifying what share of TAM is pursuable for companies and how it affects their valuation potential.

I lead an executive team at Avasta that is passionate about bringing our vision to life.  They have the expertise that provides value to our clients and we strive to bring at least 10X value over what they pay for our services (often its more like 100X+)

I use my expertise in mathematics, finance, and business experience across over a dozen industries and four continents to solve today's companies' strategic growth opportunities and challenges.

Before Avasta, I was the founder or executive at several valuation, business measurement and finance firms, preceded by finance and market development roles on Wall Street, at Merrill Lynch and Procter & Gamble.

Since 2014 I've been a primary author on two next-generation business measurement standards:

1) How to measure a brand financially from the customer's point of view - ISO 20671
2) How to measure and report on the future value of intellectual capital and intangible assets to the board of directors - ANSI/LES ICBR 1.0

Additionally, I've continuously developed and taught the Finance of Brand Management graduate course at the University of Toronto since 2015 and regularly present on strategy measurement and valuation at conferences and business schools.

My wife, Mary and I have been together for over 25 years!  I have two energetic and caring children, and pride myself in ignoring recipes to cook dinner (this usually works out just fine!).

Some worthwhile links to get a sense of what I and our team at Avasta do.

2023: Origins of my career, how Avasta came about, and 21st century advantage:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sImjK9iNvA&t=2s

2023: Avasta's expertise in sharing our expertise as part of public standards and integrating them into client solutions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfBntY062KY&t=1s

2022: The impact of what I do with applying the Brand Evaluation standard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU_u5hz23RY&t=1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAp5sJe1y8U&t=6296s

2020: Podcast on bringing alternatives to strategic thinking
https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/champagne-strategy-1285454/episodes/measuring-a-brands-contributio-67500778

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