Daniel J. Edelman

Edelman_Daniel-JSCHRANZ LECTURER 2000

Daniel J. Edelman Founded Daniel J. Edelman, Inc., parent company of Edelman and PR21 in 1952 and serves as its Chairman of the Board. Mr. Edelman also Founded Edelman Public relations Worldwide and serves as its Chairman. Daniel was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1920. At the age of five, Daniel had already shown a strong interest in writing. While he was quarantined to his room with the mumps, he typed notes to his mother on what he’d prefer to eat. He also created a neighborhood newsletter at a very young age after his family had moved to Manhattan. As he grew older, Daniel excelled academically. He graduated high school at 15, then enrolled at Columbia University.

During World War II, Daniel Edelman had been drafted into the army, where he analyzed German propaganda. Following the war, he held a job at CBS, then at a record company called Musicraft. During his time at Musicraft, Toni, a hair care company, was sponsoring weekly radio spots for their product. Daniel had an idea to help promote their CD by making the disc itself look like one of the hair care products. After the campaign’s success Toni decided to hire Daniel on to their own PR staff in Chicago. For more than half a century, he has been at the forefront of the industry and is credited with pioneering many of the techniques that are now staples. He is the recipient of Columbia University’s Distinguished Alumnus Award and the John Jay Award for Distinguished Professional Achievement.

READ EDELMAN’S LECTURE