Newhouse School of Communications

October 22, 2009

Jim Olson, vice president of corporate communications with US Airways, will visit Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications on Wednesday, October 28. He will speak on "Brace for Impact: Lessons Learned from the Miracle on the Hudson" at 7 p.m. in Room 101, Newhouse 2. His talk is free and open to the public. Parking is available in SU pay lots.

Olson, who graduated from the Newhouse School with a degree in public relations in 1991, leads internal and external communications for the airline, the nation’s fifth-largest. He was the lead spokesperson for the company during the aftermath of the January 2009 emergency landing of US Airways Airbus A320 in the Hudson River.

He joined US Airways from Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, a Seattle-based international public relations firm.  As senior vice president, he helped establish and lead the firm’s corporate and digital practices where he worked with clients including Boeing, Microsoft, AMD, DHL, Texas Instruments, HTC and Lance Armstrong. 

Prior to that, he was vice president of corporate communications at Overture Services Inc., a pioneer in the commercialization of Internet search. The company was acquired by Yahoo! in 2003. 

Previously, he consulted for Nissan North America for seven years, serving as a trusted advisor in the areas of public relations, advertising and digital media. Along the way, he has also worked with J.D. Power and Associates, TBWA Chiat/Day Advertising and Apple.

Olson has traveled to more than 20 countries across six continents, and has extensive business experience in Asia (China, India, South Korea, Japan and Singapore). He lives in Scottsdale, Ariz. with his wife and four-year-old daughter. 

For more information about Olson’s visit, contact Maria Russell at (315) 443-3368 or mprussel@syr.edu

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Media contact:
Wendy S. Loughlin
(315) 443-2785
wsloughl@syr.edu

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