The rise of the tech CEO persona
And how PR can help guide these efforts.
Dora Scheidlinger is vice president at Method Communications.
In an era where Americans have relatively low confidence in big tech and a president who embodies “the cult of personality,” more communications strategies are centered around the CEO rather than the corporation itself. But in today’s landscape, with more media channels than ever, from social to podcasts, newsletters, bylines, blogs and vlogs, figuring out the best strategy to promote the CEO persona is easier said than done.
In the past month, we’ve read the opinions of the CEO of Robinhood in the Washington Post, the CEO of IBM in Fortune and the CEO of Anthropic in the Wall Street Journal – just to name a few. Other CEOs are prioritizing long-form, conversational podcasts like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg’s recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience or Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s spot on Dax Shepherd’s Armchair Expert podcast. Other CEOs like OpenAI’s Sam Altman prefer owned channels like blogs or LinkedIn, which saw a 23% YoY increase in posts from chief executives globally.
With endless avenues for tech CEOs to share their personae, here are three ways their PR pros can provide a focused strategy.
Determine the audience
Understanding your target audience is the first crucial step in developing an effective CEO comms strategy.
For example, if the intent is to communicate with corporate stakeholders, choose a channel they already use and cater the content to their interest in your company’s vision and strategy. If the channel of choice is top-tier business media, you’ll also need to produce a news hook. IBM’s CEO Arvind Krishna accomplished this balance in his recent article for Fortune, using the DeepSeek launch as the hook, while speaking to investors and industry leaders about the company’s strategic direction in AI and quantum computing.
If your goal audience is customers and users, choose a channel they frequent. If they skew younger, prioritize social media and podcasts. If they skew older, try traditional media outlets and newsletters. Like corporate stakeholders, consumers are also interested in the company vision and values, but through a uniquely human lens. Brian Chesky’s Armchair Expert appearance is a case study in doing this effectively.
If the audience is prospective employees, use a channel like LinkedIn and tailor the content to highlight company culture and leadership style. Microsoft’s Satya Nadella effectively uses LinkedIn to share thoughts on leadership and workplace transformation (granted, Microsoft does own LinkedIn).
Keep it industry focused
While personal branding is important, a CEO’s public presence should ultimately serve the company’s broader objectives over their own. The most effective means of striking this balance is to share genuine industry insights that provide value to the audience.
A good example of this is Dario Amodei’s co-authored byline in which he urges the Trump administration to support AI development without mentioning Anthropic or OpenAI by name. Similarly, Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong uses his blog to discuss cryptocurrency regulation and the future of digital finance, while Sam Altman uses his to discuss AI safety and regulation. In each of these cases, the broader perspective on the industry makes the content appear like a point of view instead of a sales pitch.
Keep it real
Authenticity is paramount in today’s media landscape, especially considering it’s the most important value to Gen Z. PR pros can help CEOs uncover their unique point of view by asking them about their beliefs and exploring ways to amplify those values in a way that aligns with the business.
For example, CEO Ryan Gellert’s announcement of Patagonia’s exit from a major industry group over climate policy differences aligned perfectly with Patagonia’s core values and brand identity.
And after years of dealing with a bad reputation, Mark Zuckerberg is turning things around by keeping it real. From challenging Elon Musk to a cage-match fight, to apologizing to the families of child victims of online harm at a Senate hearing, Zuck’s unfiltered persona is improving his reputation and Meta is reaping the benefits.
As the media landscape continues to evolve, PR professionals play an increasingly crucial role in helping tech CEOs navigate the various communications channels effectively. PR pros can help CEOs find the right balance between personal authenticity and strategic communication that serves their personal brand and the company’s objectives.
