Ted McDougal

BA, 1977, Communication

Senior Vice President & Director, Ketchum Public Relations Corp.

Ted McDougal is Senior Vice President and Director of Ketchum’s Midwest Corporate Practice.  In this role, he is responsible for delivering strategic communications solutions, providing reliable client service and developing superior talent in pursuit of client satisfaction.

McDougal has more than 25 years of experience in corporate communications, business-to-business marketing and reputation management. Prior to joining Ketchum, McDougal was vice president of public relations for Sears Holdings Corporation, where he led business and financial communications for the nation’s third largest retailer.

His accomplishments include successfully positioning Sears' $11 billion merger with Kmart and the $6 billion sale of the company's Credit and Financial Products business to Citigroup, including counseling top management, building strategic consensus and coordinating investor and legal disclosures to secure favorable response from employees, customers and suppliers.  In addition, he led the announcement of Sears’ $1.9 billion acquisition of Lands’ End and built marketing public relations programs incorporating product placement, special events, in-store promotion, online retailing and celebrity endorsement.

Before Sears, McDougal spent 17 years in financial services, spanning real estate, securities brokerage and commercial banking. He began his corporate career at Continental Bank in Chicago, where he was responsible for directing public relations, financial and marketing communications, including integrating corporate advertising and public relations into a single, cohesive program to raise market awareness and enhance the company’s reputation.  His accomplishments include leading media relations and crisis communications during what was then the largest bank restructuring in U.S. history and overseeing an integrated internal and external communications program designed to lead changes associated with repositioning the restructured organization in the marketplace.