Biography
Ross is a public relations professional with more than 23 years of direct experience in strategic communications. He currently provides advice on cross-border business issues and is an expert public policy consultant.
From 2000-2007, he was Executive Director of the Global Business Dialogue on Electronic Commerce (GBDe). He was one of the founding participants of this initiative, which launched in 1998 and included CEOs and board members of several Fortune 500 companies. During this time he was instrumental in forging consensus between the diverse business interests on some of the most pressing cross-border, digital issues in an effort to avoid a patchwork of conflicting legislation.
Prior to his work with GBDe, Ross was CEO of Burrell Communications, based in Wellington, New Zealand where he specialized in the energy sector and electricity industry reform in particular. Ross developed and implemented publicity plans for a number of high-profile clients including New Zealand's largest law firm and promoted sponsorships for major industrial clients including Mobil Oil.
Born in Wanganui, New Zealand, Ross has a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Victoria University of Wellington and a post-graduate Diploma of Journalism from Canterbury University. He began his career as a newspaper journalist, before accepting public relations advisory roles in New Zealand's Ministry of Energy and Mobil Oil. After a three-year period as senior PR consultant for leading Australian public relations companies in Melbourne, acting for major corporate clients, he returned to New Zealand in 1991 as Director of PR and lobbying group, Link Consultants.
Ross came to the US in 2000 and has lived on the East Coast since that time.