William R. Palen

Senior Vice President, FleishmanHillard

William Palen has more than 25 years of diverse experience in executive/stakeholder support, speech writing, public affairs and sports marketing.<br /> <br /> At FleishmanHillard, Mr. Palen manages the Frost Bank account and supports Cullen/Frost Chairman and CEO Dick Evans through strategic communications counsel and writing, including major speeches, talking points, earnings scripts and opinion/editorials. He also served as speech writer for USAA CEO Stuart Parker.<br /> <br /> For 13 years, Mr. Palen supported Dallas-based AT&amp;T, Inc., through senior executive counsel, speech writing, sports marketing, media relations and internal communications. Mr. Palen drafted remarks for AT&amp;T officers including AT&amp;T Chairman and CEO Edward Whitacre, Jr. and other senior officials. <br /> <br /> Mr. Palen helped develop numerous community events in conjunction with AT&amp;T sports sponsorships including the AT&amp;T Cotton Bowl Classic, Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Games, SMU Athletic Forum, AT&amp;T Center, AT&amp;T Red River Showdown, AT&amp;T National with Tiger Woods and AT&amp;T’s sponsorship of the Masters. <br /> <br /> Mr. Palen is a recipient of FleishmanHillard’s most prestigious honor — the John D. Graham Award for Excellence — which recognizes colleagues for exemplary client service, teamwork, integrity and personal commitment. AT&amp;T executives presented Mr. Palen with the NOVA Achievement Award for his outstanding work on behalf of the company.<br /> <br /> Before joining FleishmanHillard, Mr. Palen served as deputy press secretary and speech writer for Missouri Governor John Ashcroft, preparing remarks for hundreds of public events and preparing weekly columns and radio scripts.<br /> <br /> Mr. Palen also served as communications director for the Missouri Republican Party, where he prepared remarks for elected officials and candidates and was responsible for all Missouri GOP communications.<br /> <br /> He previously served as Research Administrator for the Westwood One and NBC Radio Radio Networks in New York City.<br /> <br /> Mr. Palen graduated summa cum laude from the University of Central Missouri and received the Master’s Prize as the outstanding graduate student at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications. He served as an IRTS Distinguished Summer Fellow in New York and is a Leadership Dallas alumnus.<br /> <br /> Mr. Palen is actively involved in several national and local charitable organizations. He served four years as president of the annual New Year’s (Cotton Bowl) Parade in downtown Dallas, organizing the parade and drafting the entire script for the 90-minute live telecast on FOX 4. He serves as an officer on the board of the Field and Mary Scovell Scholarship Foundation.