By Dominic Calabrese, Past PCC President
She launched her own communications agency that grew into a global enterprise. She celebrated New Year’s Eve with iconic personality Dick Clark. She sailed from England to New York on the Queen Mary 2 with actress Jane Seymour to launch a home appliance brand. And she has worked with more celebrities and professional athletes than she can count.
What has given her the most satisfaction, however, is championing the cause of accessibility by launching an industry-first commitment to ensure that content is available to all for those with visual, hearing and cognitive disabilities.
Meet Virginia Devlin, founder and retired Chief Executive Officer of Current Global, a midsized communications agency that is part of the Interpublic Group (IPG), who is universally respected as an operational ace, active client counselor and much sought after mentor and friend.
Virginia Devlin, PCC Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
On Wednesday, October 16, Virginia will add PCC's Lifetime Achievement Award to her already long list of impressive honors. Among them: the 2024 Innovator Award from the Northern Star Alumni Association at Northern Illinois University; 2024 Communication Leaders of Chicago Career Service Award; 2023 PRWeek Outstanding Agency Professional finalist; 2022 PRSA Chicago Professional of the Year; 2022 PRWeek Most Purposeful Agency Leader finalist; 2021 PRWeek Woman of Distinction; 2021 Women in Marketing Change Maker Award – Agency; and 2020 Gold Stevie Award for Most Innovative Woman of the Year – Advertising, Marketing & PR.
“Virginia over the course of many years was at the core of our success, first at Weber Shandwick and then at Current," says Andy Polansky, retired CEO, Weber Shandwick. "She built a great team, and her entrepreneurial vision drove the firm to its standing as a leading mid-sized PR agency that consistently won prized assignments from the world’s top brands.”
Also singing Virginia's praises is Janet Cabot, former managing director, US Food & Nutrition Practice, Edelman.
"I am unsurprised that Virginia is receiving the Publicity Club’s Lifetime Achievement Award," says Janet Cabot, former managing director, US Food & Nutrition Practice, Edelman. "Of course, you recognized her talent and achievements! Anyone who worked with Virginia could quickly spot her ability. She was thoughtful, talented and poised well beyond her chronological age."
Ms. Cabot points out that Virginia had the perfect combination for success in the PR industry: she knew how to build and nurture relationships, had creative ideas and executed programs flawlessly to deliver results.
"But beyond her professional skills," she reflects. "It was a true pleasure to work with her early on and then follow her stellar career. It is an honor to have someone as talented as Virginia consider me one of her mentors.”
As a college student, Virginia was always interested in storytelling and photography, the two primary staples of communications.
"I am a photojournalism graduate from Northern Illinois University who intended to go to business school," she recalls. "After one too many accounting classes, I decided to change course and got involved with the school newspaper, the Northern Star."
Noting that she enjoyed writing and was intrigued by photography, she found the opportunity to focus on visual storytelling exciting.
"Working at the school newspaper was an important part of my education because I learn best by doing," Virginia says.
Without internships under her belt, she recalls that she got her first break by taking a job as a secretary at a Seattle PR agency.
"I was determined to prove that I was as good a writer and creative problem solver as I was a typist. In short order, I was promoted to account executive. I’m proud to have worked my way up from secretary to CEO," she laughs.
As a consumer marketing specialist, Virginia jokes that she sold salad dressing for a living, since Hidden Valley Ranch was the client she launched Current Global with and is still a client of the agency 18 years later.
"From selling five liter kegs of ranch, to making a diamond out of ranch, to creating ranch flavored ice cream, we did it all, and people ate it up!" she says.
Through client work, Virginia points out that she personally planted a rose garden at former NBC Today Show personality Willard Scott’s farm, and was published in a book about garden roses.
"I traveled the country putting milk mustaches on people’s faces for the got milk? campaign, attending too many county fairs, rodeos and grocery store parking lots to count," she smiles.
When asked what led her to establish Current Global, she responds:
"I spent nine years working at Weber Shandwick, one of the largest PR agencies in the world, before launching Current Global, which started as a boutique consumer marketing agency with just one client and a handful of employees. At a large agency, you navigate client conflicts all the time, and it was a phone call from an existing client about taking on more work that I knew would be a conflict for another client that set the wheels in motion and sent me on a new career path."
She points out that after pitching IPG the idea to start a new agency as an intrapreneur, the opportunity happened quickly, and concept to launch took about two months.
"It was a whirlwind, and a thrilling time that required me to stretch and grow my skills," she recalls. "Naming the agency was harder than naming my daughter, who was just 18 months old at the time. And I was working a four-day schedule during all of this so I could spend more time with her."
Today, Current Global has over 200 team members with major operations around the world and expertise in corporate, consumer, healthcare and technology marketing.
Virginia's leadership helped Current land on many “best of” lists and win dozens of Cannes Lions, Effies, PRWeek, PRovoke Media, PRSA and other industry awards.
Accepting the Career Service Award from the Communication Leaders of Chicago. Left to right, husband Kurt Baldassari, daughter Ava Baldassari, Virginia Devlin, Amy Colton, Jack Modzelewski
Recognized by Fast Company as a World Changing Idea, she led thought leadership for Accessible by Design, the agency’s first-to-market commitment that all communication and content meet the highest accessibility standards for those with sight, hearing, and cognitive disabilities.
When asked why she launched the initiative when she did, Virginia responds:
"Current Global was an early signatory to the Diversity Action Alliance, a coalition accelerating DEI progress in our profession. As we deepened our commitment to DEI within our agency, I also made it a priority to drive change through the work we do by reflecting and reaching people of all backgrounds."
She points out that Current's London team worked on a project for client Microsoft focused on promoting the company’s accessibility tools, and that work sparked the idea of Accessible by Design. The industry-first agency commitment to produce work that was accessible to all people became a passion project for team members around the world.
"To launch the initiative, we conducted research into how people with sight, hearing, and cognitive disabilities consume media and content, and how it shapes their interaction with and perception of brands. The agency then partnered with the PRCA and PR Council to create free accessible communications guidelines. Next came a 21-day challenge to train people on the basics and www.accessible-communications.com to host research, webinars and other content. All this led to Fast Company recognizing Accessible by Design as a World Changing Idea – a first-ever accolade for a PR agency."
A frequent speaker on accessible communications, Virginia has helped educate the industry while promoting disability inclusion through fireside chats, panels, and webinars for the Female Quotient Equality Lounge at Cannes, Arthur Page Society, Disability:IN, Institute for Public Relations, PR Council, PR Leadership Forum, PRSA College of Fellows and more.
Her board experience includes the Institute for Public Relations, PR Council, Public Relations Society of America Chicago chapter, and non-profit school Ryan Banks Academy. She has judged various industry award competitions including the CLIO, DRUM, PRWeek Global, PRWeek North America, and SABRE North America awards.
When asked if she could share any special memories of her early years in the profession, Virginia laughs that interesting stories and memory making moments are the bedrock of successful PR!
"Counseling the C-suite, curtailing crisis, building brand awareness, launching new products, shaping a client’s purpose…every day is different, and that’s my favorite thing about the work we do," she smiles.
Virginia maintains that she will always have a special place in her heart for her peers in the industry.
"The job was (almost) always fun, or at least interesting, but much more rewarding was working alongside so many communications pros over the years - in the trenches collaborating on work, giving back to the community through board and pro bono work, mentoring and reverse mentoring, championing and cheerleading each other, even when competing for business."
When asked about offering career advice, Virginia says that she always tells people to chart their own path.
"That’s what I did, and it took courage and asking the right people to support me in order to be successful. Businesses often have a prescribed promotion track - that’s certainly true in the agency world where I spent my entire career - with only so much room at the top. Because of that, it is critical that you reinvent what may be a standard job description into one that plays to your strengths, taps into your successes (and failures), creates new opportunities, and offers value to the organization."
Overall, Virginia expresses optimism about the future of both journalism and public relations.
"The professions of journalism and public relations have gone through an accelerated period of change and innovation during the digital age to ensure they are reaching people wherever they consume content.
Because storytelling feeds curiosity - a fundamental and unwavering human trait - I remain optimistic about the future of the communications industry. Sure, the ways of working and the tools we use will evolve, but PR practitioners will continue to find creative and impactful ways to tell meaningful stories for businesses and brands. Journalists will continue to investigate and report on what’s happening in our world. And audiences will continue to consume all forms of content as we all strive to be educated and entertained, to connect with and understand others, and to share our experiences."
Looking back on all her accomplishments, Virginia says she has been fortunate.
"I passionately pursued a career in public relations for three decades, and the last 18 years were deeply rewarding as Current Global grew from one client and a handful of colleagues into a global creative powerhouse. I am most proud of building an inclusive agency that championed diverse people, perspectives and experiences; of serving as a role model and mentor to countless practitioners; of establishing long-term client partnerships while delivering award-winning work; and of donating my talent and time to various industry and non-profit organizations."
Celebrating her March 2024 retirement with family and Current Global colleagues
We asked Virginia about her plans for the future.
"I believe that reinvention is how we stay current both personally and professionally. It’s about accepting and understanding change, embracing the art of the pivot, and finding creative solutions to meet evolving needs. With my recent retirement, I am entering my next reinvention phase, and I’m still figuring out exactly what that looks like. I want to travel the world. I want to explore my creative side, and have started doing so with classes at the Chicago Mosaic School. I want to stay connected to the communications industry by serving as an experienced and valuable counselor to others."
Her amazing career and the impact she had on so many others was expressed by another close friend and colleague, Shannon McGovern, executive vice president of Client Experience at Current Global.
"From the creation of Current in 2006, to orchestrating a global merger and launching an industry-first commitment to ensure content is accessible to all, Virginia has been a driving force, pushing to make the work and industry better throughout her career. And she’s done it all while serving on industry boards, as a mentor for many and creating a curious and creative culture. Congratulations, Virginia - or VA as she’s known by her colleagues!"