Doug Pinkham is president of the Public Affairs Council, the leading international association for public affairs professionals.
Doug was elected to head the Council in 1997. Under his leadership, the Council has expanded its membership, online services, research on emerging public affairs trends, conferences and global public affairs programs. He has written numerous articles for trade/professional magazines and books and is a frequent speaker on public affairs, politics, communications and corporate management. He has been quoted widely in the print and broadcast media, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, Fox Business News and NPR.
Before joining the Council, Doug was VP of communications for the American Gas Association, a major trade association representing natural gas distribution companies.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Doug graduated with honors from the College of Wooster in Ohio. While at Wooster, he was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa society.
Doug is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America. He serves on the board of the Institute for Public Relations and previously served on the International Advisory Board of the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship. He is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, an association of senior-level corporate communications executives.

Paolo Compostella is an advisor on public affairs and strategic communication issues with a focus on services to government, crisis communication, technology, competition and health care. He serves as president of the European region and is a member of the Global Executive Team. With APCO since 2006, Paolo has worked in numerous markets including APCO’s offices in Brussels, London, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Rome.
Prior to joining APCO, Paolo worked for the European Commission in Brussels at the Directorates General for Development and for Internal Market. He also was a researcher at the Italian Embassy in Kenya, assessing the effectiveness of international development funding to developing countries. He began his career as a consultant at Ernst & Young in Italy.
Paolo holds a degree in international economics from Bocconi University in Milan and has completed his studies at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Sorbonne in Paris and the Harvard Business School in Boston. He has lived in eight different countries over the last 20 years and holds a thorough understanding of developing nations as well, especially in Asia, Africa and in the Middle East.