Geoff Morrell (spokesperson) explained

Geoff Morrell
Occupation:chief corporate affairs officer
Years Active:1992–present
Module:
Embed:yes
Office:Pentagon Press Secretary/Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs
Term Start:2007
Term End:2011
Embed:yes
Office1:ABC News White House Correspondent
Term Start1:2000
Term End1:2007

Geoffrey S. Morrell (born November 1968) is the president of Global Strategy & Communications at Teneo, a public relations and advisory firm.[1] In 2022, he was the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Disney for three months before resigning. He served as the Executive Vice President of Communications and Advocacy at BP from 2011 to 2021.[2] [3] [4] From 2007 to 2011, he was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and the press secretary for the U.S. Department of Defense.[5] [6]

Early life and education

Morrell graduated from the Lawrenceville School in 1987,[7] then earned a bachelor's degree in 1991 from Georgetown University and a master's degree in journalism in 1992 from Columbia University.[6]

Professional career

Morrell began his reporting career in 1992 at KATV-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas, covering the presidential campaign of Bill Clinton. He worked as a reporter at WSET-TV in Lynchburg/Roanoke in 1994; at KSAZ-TV in Phoenix in 1995; and at WBBM-TV in Chicago in 1996.[6] While working as for WBBM-TV, Morrell played himself in the 1998 movie The Negotiator.[8]

Morrell left WBBM-TV in early 2000 and joined ABC News, working in the network's Chicago and Washington, D.C., bureaus. He was an ABC White House television correspondent for four years.[9] In 2007, Morrell resigned from ABC to be appointed the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, where he served under two presidents.[6] Morrell resigned upon Secretary Robert Gates' retirement in July 2011 and was replaced by George E. Little.

In September 2011, Morrell joined BP as a vice-president and the company's head of U.S. communications. Two years later, he became the company's senior vice president of U.S. communications and external affairs;[10] he was in charge of government and media relations, internal communications, community affairs and philanthropy in the U.S.[11]

In 2017, he moved to London to become head of group communications and external affairs, leading BP's global government media relations, internal communications, and community affairs.[12] [13] [14] In 2020, Morrell was appointed Executive Vice President of Communications and Advocacy at BP.

In January 2022, Morrell left BP to oversee “communications, government relations, public policy, philanthropy and environmental issues” as Disney's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer.[15] [16] [17] [18] During his tenure, Disney had become embroiled in a dispute with Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida laws regarding parental educational rights and teaching of gender identity: Florida had enacted a law requiring the termination of Disney's special self-governing tax and improvement district that governed 25,000 acres of Disney World.[19] Morell resigned from Disney on April 29, 2022, saying that "for a number of reasons it is not the right fit" and that he would "pursue other opportunities".[20] During his three-month stint at Disney, he was paid over $10 million.[21]

References

  1. News: Larkin . Ewan . Disney, BP alum Geoff Morrell lands at Teneo . . 2023-01-04 . 2023-01-04 .
  2. Web site: BP Annual Report and Form 20-F 2020 . BP . 26 July 2021.
  3. Web site: The PR Show: How comms is helping BP handle COVID-19 and fulfil its net zero ambition . Hickman . Arvind . 2 June 2020 . July 12, 2021 . .
  4. Web site: Geoff Morrell, BP PLC: Profile and Biography . Bloomberg Markets . 26 July 2021.
  5. Web site: Morrell . Geoff . U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Transcript . U.S. Department of Defense . 18 September 2013 . June 27, 2011 . Thanks for coming to my final briefing . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131214145715/http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4847 . 14 December 2013 .
  6. Web site: Geoff S. Morrell Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Pentagon Press Secretary . U.S. Department of Defense . 18 September 2013 . Geoff Morrell was named Pentagon Press Secretary on June 18, 2007... Morrell served as a White House correspondent for ABC News, where he worked for seven years...Morrell graduated with a B.A. in Government from Georgetown University in 1991. The following year he received a M.S. from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131214145804/http://www.defense.gov/bios/biographydetail.aspx?biographyid=154 . 14 December 2013 .
  7. Web site: NOTABLE ALUMNI . The Lawrenceville School . October 16, 2014 . November 9, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161109003646/http://www.lawrenceville.org/about/history/notable-alumni/index.aspx . dead .
  8. News: Gizbert. Richard. London Calling: Geoff Morrell Makes It Official. 18 September 2013. Huffingtonpost. June 21, 2007. ...some of you may remember Geoff Morrell from the big screen. He did one of those news reporter cameos in The Negotiator.
  9. http://www.ajr.org/article.asp?id=4710 American Journalism Review
  10. News: Tau. Byron. BP ups Morrell, reorganizes PR/GR — Kinzel flies to Delta — Francis joins JDA frontline — AEA goes after Begich, Hagan on carbon taxes. 18 September 2013. Politico. September 20, 2013. Andrea Drusch. Anna Palmer. Geoff Morrell has been promoted to senior vice president in charge of the newly formed U.S. Communications & External Affairs team.
  11. News: Morrell to lead merged BP comms, government affairs . Kiefer . Brittaney . . 6 September 2013 . 21 July 2015.
  12. News: Trump, furious and frustrated, gears up to punch back at Comey testimony . Costa . Robert . BP announced last month that Morrell would be moving to London this summer.. . . 6 June 2017 . 30 May 2018.
  13. Web site: Executive Profile Geoff Morrell . 2017 . Bloomberg . 9 August 2017.
  14. News: BP promotes Geoff Morrell to group head of comms, external affairs . Sean . Czarnecki . . 18 May 2017 . 9 August 2017.
  15. News: Ellingson . Annlee . 10 Los Angeles business people to watch in 2022 . 27 January 2022 . The Business Journals . 3 January 2022.
  16. News: Barnes . Brooks . Disney hires Geoff Morrell, a BP executive, as its corporate affairs chief. . 21 December 2021 . The New York Times . 7 December 2021.
  17. News: Weprin . Kim Masters,Alex . Masters . Kim . Weprin . Alex . Disney to Tap BP Exec and Former ABC News Correspondent Geoff Morrell as PR Chief (Exclusive) . 21 December 2021 . The Hollywood Reporter . 7 December 2021.
  18. News: Disney names former Pentagon press secretary to newly created job . 21 December 2021 . Axios . 7 December 2021.
  19. News: Call. James . 2022-04-22 . It's law: In just days, Ron DeSantis dismantles Disney's special tax district operating since 1967 . Florida Today (USA Today Network/Tallahassee Democrat) . 2022-04-30.
  20. News: Barnes . Brooks . 2022-04-29 . Disney’s top communications executive is out after less than four months. . The New York Times . 2022-04-30.
  21. Web site: Disney exec paid equivalent of $3.4 million a month for brief 3-month stint . 2023-01-24 . Fortune . en.

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