Biographies
Joseph C. Nahil, APR, Principal
Joe Nahil is an internationally known public relations and corporate communications practitioner. His areas of expertise encompass the full spectrum of strategic marketing communications disciplines, including: reputation management, media and analyst relations, crisis counseling, media training and support, marketing collateral development, community and employee communications, trade show and event development, and senior management counseling. In both corporate and agency settings, Joe has developed and implemented communications programs in market areas as diverse as high technology, education, telecommunications, non-profit and consumer branding.
Prior to founding Nahil Communications Group, Inc., he served as senior vice president of Belenos Inc., a pre-IPO telecommunications consulting firm. In that capacity he developed the company’s entire media relations, marketing collateral and community relations programs from the ground up. Previously he held executive vice president positions with two Boston-based international public relations agencies where he provided strategic direction to those agencies’ largest global accounts. His corporate experience includes a six-year tenure as vice president of corporate communications for Compaq Computer Corporation in Houston, as well as over a decade in the top communications positions at Apollo Computer and Digital Equipment Corporation. (Like Compaq, those companies are now also part of Hewlett-Packard.)
Additionally, he has represented RCA Corporation and AVCO Corporation as senior press representative during the Apollo space program era. Joe began his career in the educational sphere, and has taught English literature and grammar on the collegiate level. He is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America, a past president and life member of the Publicity Club of New England, immediate past president and member of the Board of Directors of the British American Business Council of New England, and a former board member of the Jimmy Fund’s Business Advisory Council.
Joe is also an adjunct professor at Suffolk University in Boston and Cape Cod where he teaches a variety of undergraduate courses in public relations, integrated marketing and crisis communications.
Christopher M. Nahil, Principal
Chris Nahil is an 22-year veteran of the corporate communications field. During his career he has worked on both the corporate and agency sides of the business and has had the opportunity to serve some of the most storied brand names in global business, including Compaq Computer Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation, MFS Investment Management, Xerox, Eastman Kodak, EMC, Lexmark, Polaroid, New York Post, Beal Companies, Carnival Cruise Lines, Genuity (now Level 3) and Intel. Additionally, he has been privileged to lend his communications experience to innovative companies such as Thinking Machines, Great Plains Software, Monorail, IE-Engine, Classwell Learning Group, Be Well Body Scanning, Chumbo.com, MCG Global, Sovereign Bank of New England and SageMaker. Chris has deep experiencing in developing messaging and positioning programs for companies whether start-up stage or international leaders. He excels at converting complex issues and information into storylines for media, customers and influencers — storylines that are compelling, credible and consistent.
In addition to managing and executing successful PR programs around the world, he has been a senior manager at several leading agencies, including Text 100 International, FitzGerald Communications, FH/GPC (now O’Neill and Associates) and Miller/Shandwick Technologies. As a PR agency manager he worked to inculcate a business-focused service mentality among his teams and focused heavily on developing and codifying PR “best practices.” Additionally, Chris was proud to take a leadership role in the growth, business development, financial management, operations and human resources aspects of these agencies.
Chris’s written work has appeared in trade, professional, entertainment, general interest and corporate publications. He is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, the South Shore Chamber of Commerce, the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, and the Marine Ocean and Technology Network. A college radio retiree, Chris has a B.A. from the University of Rochester, where he studied political science and English literature. He writes fiction for fun and (no) profit in his (imaginary) spare time.
Linda Pendergast-Savage
With more than 20 years of experience in public relations, Linda Pendergast-Savage has a strong track record in strategic communications planning and program implementation. In the course of her career, she has conducted successful PR programs for companies of all sizes and in a variety of markets and industries, such as software, hardware and other IT products and services; B2B; biotechnology; non-profit; tourism; manufacturing; retail; and financial services.
Linda has recently implemented successful PR programs and written marketing materials for companies, such as BasWare, Bio-IT World, PeopleCube, Nemonix Engineering, Plimoth Plantation and Destination Plymouth. Previously she was senior PR counsel with Miller/Shandwick Technologies. As one of the first employees of the international PR agency (now known as Weber Shandwick) Linda was a key contributor to the agency during her 16-year tenure. She managed and implemented major PR initiatives for long-standing clients, such as Compaq Computer, Genetics Institute, Genex, MIT X Windows Consortium, Agfa Compugraphic, Siemens-Nixdorf, Western Union, Symbol Technologies, Cognos and others. Prior to joining Miller/Shandwick in 1985, Linda assisted in the development and implementation of a highly visible PR program for the non-profit organization, Project Bread and its Greater Boston Walk for Hunger.
Linda received a B.A. degree, with honors, in communications and French from Regis College, Weston, Mass.