Michael Ritter 1946

Michael Ritter

Dr. Michael Ritter

Michael Ritter is an business communicator born in Oberaudorf-upon-Inn, southern Germany in 1946 and living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After few years as officer in the german army Michael went to Argentina where he earned his academic degree as Master of Advertising Arts and Techniques in 1974 and his PhD in Social Communication Science in 2000 at the Universidad del Salvador - USAL, in Buenos Aires.

Proffesional activity

Michael developed almost his entirely professional career at Siemens, the German technology global company, in which he served along of more than three decades as head communications and public affairs in the Argentinean branch.

Since 1992 and until March 2003 Michael was Senior VP of Corporate Relations and Communications for the L.A. Southern Cone and member of the Executive Board in Siemens Argentina. Currently he is a consultant in communications and public affairs and head of Ritter & Partners consultants. Michael is known in the academic and business world for his contributions to strategic and crisis communication, corporate reputation management and the measurement of communication management performance.

Academic activity

Michael is a professor of Corporate Communication at the Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia - UCAM, Spain, the Universidad de las Américas/Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador, and the Universidad del Valle de México – UAM. Previously he was professor at the Universidad Católica Argentina – UCA and the Universidad de Ciencias Empresariales y Sociales – UCES in Buenos Aires where he helped to design and implement in 1994 the first Master of Science in Corporate Communications of Argentina.

He was also visiting professor at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences - FLACSO, the Universidad Javeriana de Colombia, the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador and the Universidad Ort in Montevideo, Uruguay.

In 2005 and 2006 Michael was apointed member of the Pairs Committee of the National Academic Asessment and Accreditation Commission -CONEAU, which assessed on new postgraduate courses in the area of social communication of public and private universities in Argentina.

Michael has integrated dissertation juries and has been director of doctoral thesis in his field.

Michael Ritter, who was often invited to give conferences in house or at universities in Latin America, has lectured in universities in Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Uruguay. He is the author of Cultura organizacional (The Organizational Culture) published in 2008 (La Crujía), and several chapters in collective works: Medición del Aporte de la Comunicación Institucional al Valor de la Empresa y sus Marcas (Measuring the Contribution of Corporate Communications for market and brand value) (edited by the UCES in 2002), Apuntes del Dircom (The Communication Directors outlines) (Edited by Dircom, 2008), Master Dircom - Los Profesores Tienen la Palabra (Master Dircom - The Teachers have the Word), (2005), DirCom, Estratega de la Complejidad (Dircom, Strategist of Complexity) 2009 and La Publicidad de Bien Público (Public Service Advertising)edited by Temas in 2011. Michael has also published numerous articles and essays in academic journals and business magazines in Argentina and other countries. His blog is http://reputationcrisis.wordpress.com.

Institutional Activity

During 1986 and 1987 Michael was president of the Argentinean Audit Bureau of Media Circulations – IVC, a non-profit organization of argentine leading magazine and newspaper publishers, advertisers and advertising agencies that provides credible, verified information essential to the media buying and selling process. Between 1997 and 1999 Michael Ritter held the Consejo Publicitario Argentino (Argentinean Advertising Council) chair. The CPA is also a private, non-profit organization that marshals volunteer talent from the advertising and communications industries, the facilities of the media, and the resources of the business and non-profit communities to deliver critical messages to the Argentinean public. The CPA produces, distributes and promotes several of public service campaigns at year on behalf of non-profit organizations in issue areas such as improving the quality of life for children, preventative health, education, community well being, environmental preservation and strengthening families. In 2002 and because of Michael’s initiative, it was created the Argentinean Communication Directors Association –Círculo De Dircoms, whose members are the top communications and public affairs managers of most of the big companies in Argentina.

Michael is also a founding member of the Iberoamerican Group for Corporate Communication Studies – GIECI, an association whose primary purpose is to clarify and disseminate the contribution of communication as strategic management tool for good governance, on an ethical basis. To this group belong, among other prominent persons, Alberto Borrini (Argentina), Joan Costa (Spain) and Ítalo Pizzolante (Venezuela).

Awards

Michael Ritter was distinguished with important awards, among which highlights, in 1994, the Thomas Watson Award, granted by the Business Leaders Association of Argentina; The Platinum Konex Award in the field of Corporate Communications granted in 1997 by the Konex Foundation; the Jerry Goldenberg Award as Best PR Professional in Argentina in 1998 and, in 2009, The Golden Brain Award for his career development by the Atacama Foundation; and the Argentinean PR Council award.

In 2002 Michael Ritter was appointed academic of the Argentine Communication Arts and Sciences Academy in which he hold the Luis Medrano chair.