Renée S. Edelman brings four decades of experience and counting to her role as the senior vice president of Edelman, where she also is an archivist and much more. She serves on the board of directors, as Edelman is a family business, yet her major responsibility is recruiting and hiring a diversity of talented candidates. She works in the company’s global human resources department, where she organizes educational events and seeks to bring in professionals of varied backgrounds. In addition to these responsibilities, Ms. Edelman works as a media relations strategist on some accounts and is involved in building the Edelman Alumni Network. In February 1998, she helped establish Edelman’s sister company, PR21, which now operates as the Zeno Group.
Growing up, Ms. Edelman learned about public relations from her father, Dan Edelman, a modern pioneer in the industry. Throughout her career, she has remained committed to helping clients accurately communicate their stories and hopes to make the world a better place by exercising her expertise. Ms. Edelman attributes her success to the love, support, and mentorship of her parents, brothers, colleagues, and close friends. Her parents taught her to value lifelong education, self-reliance, and giving back to her community. In the future, Ms. Edelman hopes to have a major piece written to honor and share the story of her mother, Ruth Edelman.
Ms. Edelman began working with the family business in 1987 when she accepted a position as an account supervisor with Edelman’s media group. In 1990, she became the company’s vice president of technology, and in 1993, she rose to senior vice president. After excelling in the job for three years, Ms. Edelman became the executive vice president of new media, serving in this capacity from 1996 to 1998 before leaving to co-found PR21. Returning to Edelman after five years, she became the senior media strategist for technology, finding success for more than 15 years. In 2020, Ms. Edelman started as the senior vice president of diversity and inclusion, after which she accepted her current role.
Throughout her career, Ms. Edelman has sought to take on challenges. A team player, she believes in the importance of helping others and has remained steadfast in her dedication to lifelong education. Early on, she recognized the importance of continual learning, and she strived to read as much as she could and to become proficient at as many different things as possible. Alongside her primary positions, Ms. Edelman serves on the women’s leadership council for Phillips Exeter Academy, where she has contributed since 2021. She joined the board of the Theater for the New City in 2022, the board of the Museum of Public Relations in 2023, and the board of Daniel J. Edelman Holdings, Inc., in 2013. For her accomplishments, she was featured in The Wall Street Journal, Marquis Who’s Who Millennium Magazine, Forbes Magazine, Fortune Magazine, and Who’s Who in the World. Further, Ms. Edelman was named Marquis Who’s Who Top Professional.
As a 1977 graduate of Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in English, Ms. Edelman maintains membership in the Yale Club of New York City. In 1980, she earned a Master of Science in journalism from Columbia University. Outside of her work, she enjoys reading, writing, photography, walking, yoga, and mentoring young people. Throughout her accomplished career, she has watched technology disrupt every industry, including communications, and believes that modern companies must serve as both technology and media companies to stay adaptable and craft their own narratives. Reflecting on her professional experiences, Ms. Edelman advises aspiring members of her field to emphasize developing their writing skills as well as staying current on news and popular culture, traveling, building relationships, and living every day as if it were a gift.
