Gail Becker

Chair, Canada, Latin America & Western Region, U.S.

As Chair of Canada, Latin America and the U.S. Western Region, Gail Becker brings a breadth of experience encompassing consumer marketing, public affairs, technology, and entertain­ment, where she has proven herself a driving force in meeting challenges associated with today’s marketplace.

Throughout her tenure with Edelman, Gail has served as strategic counsel on a broad range of clients including Warner Bros., Starbucks, Microsoft and Symantec.

She joined Edelman after serving as vice president of communications at Warner Home Entertainment where she was charged with spearheading the global public relations launch of the DVD format on behalf of Warner Bros. and Time Warner, leaders in development of the technology. Throughout several controversial format and copyright battles, she served as the primary PR strategist and spokesperson for the companies. Prior to joining Warner, Gail was West Coast correspondent and bureau chief for the Medical News Network operating from Los Angeles, where she reported on health-related issues, policy and medical breakthroughs affecting the healthcare industry.

Before returning to Los Angeles in 1994, Gail received a political appointment in the first Clinton administration to serve as director of communications for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Donna Shalala. There, she developed and implemented communications programs to promote the agency and its divisions, including the FDA and Centers for Disease Control. Prior to that post, she served as a member of the national press staff and as the primary on-site satellite producer for candidates Bill Clinton and Al Gore during their ’92 presidential campaign.

Gail began her career as an on-air broadcast journalist in local news and then as a correspondent in Washington, D.C., primarily covering Capitol Hill and The White House. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California Los Angeles and a master’s in journalism from North­western University.

Gail currently serves as Chair of Edelman’s Global Women’s Executive Network (GWEN), is a board member of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and volunteers her time and expertise to help a number of deserving organizations including Cedar Sinai’s Good Beginnings where she helps parents cope with infant loss or illness and the new Museum of the Holocaust in Los Angeles.