Peter Debreceny

After recently retiring as vice president of Corporate Relations at Allstate Insurance Company, responsible for internal and external communications for the Allstate Corporation and its subsidiaries, Peter Debreceny has been with Gagen MacDonald since the end of 2007.

Specializing in advising clients on corporate social responsibility and change management strategies, Peter has more than 30 years experience in all aspects of public relations and integrated communications. He has practiced in those capacities in New Zealand, Australia and the United States. Prior to being appointed to his position at Allstate in September 1998, he held the position of senior vice president, Corporate and Financial Relations at Edelman Worldwide, Chicago.

Peter began his career as a current affairs journalist in radio and television. Since entering public relations, he has concentrated on providing strategic communications advice primarily to corporate and financial areas. He has been extensively involved in external reputation management, investor and financial communications and crisis and issue management. He has broad integrated marketing communications experience, in particular through a variety of sponsorship activities in sports and the Arts.

Peter is a two-time Silver Anvil award winner of the Public Relations Society of America. He is a former Chair of the Institute for Public Relations, and vice president of the Arthur W. Page Society. Peter was formally the Chair of the Communications Committee of the Insurance Information Institute, the Communications Committee of the Executives’ Club of Chicago, and is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago. He is active in community affairs, and has served on the boards of the Metropolitan Planning Council of Chicago and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago. He is currently a board member of the Chicago Opera Theater.

Education:
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, B.S., Political Science and Public Administration