The question of how to attract and retain a quality shareholder base is the holy grail of communications for all public companies. But because many of the people involved in the investment process come from a finance background, discussion often revolves around quantitative metrics. However, those metrics only go so far in explaining investor behavior.

Christopher Zunner came to the Big Apple in 1983 from up-state New York for a two-month temp job helping Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) celebrate its 25th anniversary. He ended up staying for 25 years and counting, holding a variety of posts, including administrative assistant to Alvin Ailey. A quarter-century later, as AAADT celebrates its 50th birthday, Zunner serves as PR director.

Boards of directors are often unpleasantly surprised when an investor becomes an activist and launches an attack on the company, pushing them to put the company up for sale or to spin off a unit. They are caught off-guard not necessarily because they were unaware of the investor's dissatisfaction with performance or pace of growth, but instead with the timing of the attack.

MD, US human resources, Edelman

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently hired Hill & Knowlton to handle Middle East and Asian outreach on behalf of the organization's external relations team.

The search for talent is an ongoing objective in the PR industry. Firms across the board are using Web sites, social networking, employee referral programs, and other methods of outreach to attract qualified staff. The multicultural area, though, poses unique challenges.

WASHINGTON: The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) is currently seeking an AOR to oversee both creative and PR responsibilities for the nonprofit.

WALTHAM, MA: Holcim US, a manufacturer of cement and other building materials, hired Daddi Brand Communications and Hullin Metz & Company for branding and financial communications services.

This column would have explained to you how best to indoctrinate pesky millennials into the workplace protocol to which you are well accustomed, if it were at all possible. It's not. Get over it.

Although a 6.3% DROP in newsstand sales of US consumer magazines during the first half of 2008 surely alarmed many in the publishing and communications industries, magazines are not likely to see the massive staff cuts now plaguing the newspaper world.