Sarah Vellozzi Senior Vice-President and Partner, Fleishman-Hillard, NY
A specialist in integrated global communications programs with seven years of international experience, she provides strategic counsel on issues, reputation and crisis management to clients across the Fleishman Hillard network.
Ms. Vellozzi’s core clients include the Brazilian Secretariat for Social Communication of the Office of the Presidency (SECOM), The USA Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and Siemens Healthcare. In addition, she has provided support to the Government of South Korea, the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) / Qatar Foundation, the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), the UN Undersecretary on Innovative Development Financing, the Yellow Pages Association, the National Center for APEC (NCAPEC) and Visa International.
These opportunities have afforded Ms. Vellozzi a broad range of industry knowledge and technical expertise including, but not limited to: global diplomacy and regulatory bodies (UN, IMF and World Bank), regional partnerships (BRIC, APEC, CEMEA), renewable energies, climate change and carbon emissions, sustainable forest management and Amazon protection, medical imaging and radiation, healthcare information technology, diagnostics and clinical chemistry, directional media, local search, small and medium-sized business advertising, electronic payment technology and online fraud mitigation.
Ms. Vellozzi’s work on behalf of SECOM – a sub-set of the Brazilian Office of the President charged with managing global media relations on behalf of the federal government – included spearheading opportunities with Dr. Fareed Zakaria for CNN and Newsweek, Thomas Friedman of The New York Times, Christian Amanpour at CNN International and other senior editors at The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Financial Times, Global Viewpoint Network, AP, Reuters, Bloomberg, BBC World, CNN, Vanity Fair, BusinessWeek, and Huffington Post.
On behalf of SECOM, Ms. Vellozzi was also a party delegate to the last six UN Climate Change negotions, from COP15 in Copenhagen in December 2009 through COP21 in Lima, Peru in 2014, serving as a strategic communications advisor and press officer for the senior members of the Brazilian negotiation team and other scientific advisors to the delegation.
Prior to joining the corporate affairs group, Ms. Vellozzi spent two years in the New York healthcare practice where she helped Novartis launch the world’s first and only once-yearly postmenopausal osteoporosis treatment, Reclast®. In this role, she helped Novartis navigate data and FDA milestones before successfully leading a year-long consumer launch campaign that integrated third-party partnerships, celebrity endorsement, web development, traditional and new media outreach, grassroots marketing and physician and patient ambassadors. During this time, Ms. Vellozzi also managed an integrated awareness and support program for patients with interstitial cystitis on behalf of Elmiron® for Johnson & Johnson - Ortho Women’s Health & Urology.
Ms. Vellozzi joined the New York office following five years at Fleishman-Hillard’s affiliate in Cairo, Egypt – Trans-Arabian Creative Communications Services (TRACCS) – where she was assistant managing director of Egypt and regional group editor. At TRACCS, she played an instrumental role in helping to transform the agency from a small boutique operation to a regional powerhouse. Her chief responsibilities included leading the client service department, heading business development, and directing several key local and regional accounts including Visa International CEMEA, Allianz Group Egypt, Hyatt International Hotels & Resorts Egypt, British Gas, Master Foods, Electrolux Group, Bristol-Myers Squibb Baraclude and the Athens 2004 Olympic Torch Relay, among others.
Ms. Vellozzi received numerous awards for her work including being named to PRWeek’s prestigious “40 Under 40” list in 2013 as well as eight industry awards for her work for Brazil. She is the co-chair and founder of the communications advisor board to the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright program.
At TRACCS, her awards included Visa CEMEA’s Best Writer, Best Creative Writing, and Best Screenplay awards, and international recognition from British Gas for Best Community Outreach Program.
Before entering public relations, Ms. Vellozzi held a series of research and editing roles in Egypt, including copy editor at the Middle East Times newspaper; senior editor at the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies, a USAID Legacy Endowment recipient; and research editor at Morgan Stanley-affiliate, HC Brokerage.
While working and living in Egypt, she also co-authored the Egypt Almanac: The Encyclopedia of Modern Egypt.
Ms. Vellozzi graduated from Brown University with a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature with focus on the Arabic language and Middle Eastern history, literature and culture.
She is a ‘world citizen’ with experiences living in Japan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United States, and has travelled extensively in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, North America and the Caribbean.