Karl Plath

3106 N. Neenah Ave. / Chicago, IL 60634

312/286-3188 Email: kp7cca1a@westpost.net.com

Resume
Overview
Seasoned marketing communications professional and former metropolitan daily new
spaper reporter and editor. Exceptional writer; skilled in desktop publishing an
d graphic design; expert user of Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint
, Publisher) and Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamwe
aver, Acrobat Professional and LiveCycle).
Marketing
November 2006 to December 2010: A.W.T. World Trade Inc. marketing manager for a
capital equipment manufacturer headquartered in Chicago (with offices in Miami,
Amsterdam and Wisconsin and a global distributor network). Director of in-house
advertising, marketing and graphics division (Wing Graphics & Advertising) consi
sting of six-person staff responsible for all internal and external communicatio
ns, including advertising, email marketing, public relations, media relations an
d trade show participation. Responsible for a $250,000+ advertising and trade sh
ow budget. Exceptional writer and highly skilled at major print and Internet gra
phics programs, including Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and Dreamweaver
as well as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint; also adept at digital photogra
phy and video editing. Excellent design and layout skills.
Create print and Internet advertising, collateral sales material, user manuals a
nd instruction sheets; news releases and articles for appropriate trade and cons
umer publications.
Instituted a program of regular emails to dealers, customers and prospects with
product offers and news, reaching a database of 11,000 recipients.
Substantially improved quality of writing, readability of user manuals and impac
t of advertising; increased productivity of sales, administrative and production
staff with a series of interactive Adobe Acrobat forms for a variety of purpose
s; enhanced graphic presentations for trade shows.
Initially served as technical writer, working closely with engineers, technician
s and production staff to produce user-friendly operating manuals and technical
information sheets; promoted to marketing manager in May 2008.
Corporate Communications/Investor Relations
Overall IR Expertise and Background: Counsel CEOs and CFOs in all aspects of str
ategic investor relations, including: positioning and message development, maint
aining open and consistent communications, dealing with the professional investm
ent community, articulating management's vision and strategy, conducting media i
nterviews, and communicating realistic "forward-looking" information.
Develop, execute, budget and manage strategic communications programs; prepare p
rogram proposals and budgets for prospective clients and lead onsite presentatio
ns; write quarterly financial and other news releases, investment fact sheets, o
ther collateral material; plan, write and assist with production of annual and q
uarterly reports; write and prepare slide series and management speeches for con
ference calls and presentations to institutional investors, portfolio managers a
nd brokers; direct outreach to and/or contact from professional investors, analy
sts, media and individual shareholders; plan annual meetings; supervise account
teams of three to six executives.
January 2005 to November 2006: Independent investor relations practitioner (IR C
ounsel Inc.), providing investor relations and corporate communications services
on a full-program and project basis for varied clients. Principal client is Int
ermagnetics General Corporation, a $1 billion market capitalization, Nasdaq-list
ed designer and manufacturer of medical devices and developer of energy technolo
gy (client for nine years, acquired by Philips Medical Systems).
Results include six-fold increase in share price, increased analyst coverage and
substantially improved reputation among investors; client being acquired by Phi
lips Medical Systems.
March 2001 to January 2005: The Investor Relations Company, executive vice presi
dent and minority owner of a 22-year-old investor relations agency. Supervised a
ll IR activities for 12 clients. Also responsible for technical and administrati
ve functions, including staff hiring, training and supervision; network administ
ration; website maintenance; telecommunications; client billing and budgeting; a
nd, accounting. Clients included businesses in banking, retail and wholesale sal
es and distribution, biopharmaceutical, energy technology, manufacturing, hearin
g healthcare, transportation, real estate and education services.
Significantly improved quality and depth of client consulting, presentations, wr
iting and media relations, leading to increased market value for clients and enh
anced client acquisition and retention; provided clients with greater flexibilit
y to react to rapidly changing market conditions by upgrading in-house printing
capabilities for high-quality collateral material; increased staff productivity
and profitability by upgrading network and desktop computers and instituting a n
ew accounting system for time tracking and billing.
March 1999 to March 2001: DOT-COM Financial Communications Inc., principal in in
vestor relations consulting business, providing full-range of investor relations
services for clients in diverse manufacturing and technology businesses, Interm
agnetics General Corporation, Latham, N.Y. (Nasdaq: IMGC), global leader in desi
gn and manufacture of superconducting devices; DT Industries Inc. Springfield, M
o. (Nasdaq: DTII), leading maker of industrial automation and packaging machiner
y; Lindberg Corporation, Rosemont, Ill. (Nasdaq: LIND), nation's largest commerc
ial heat-treater; and GlobalNet Inc., Lombard, Ill. (Nasdaq: GBNE), rapidly grow
ing provider of integrated, IP-based telecommunications services to the Latin Am
erican market.
Instrumental in helping clients attain and maintain fair market value and increa
sed liquidity of stock through strategic counseling, message development, financ
ial community outreach and media relations. Clients merged into The Investor Rel
ations Company and have since been acquired or are being acquired.
January 1995 to March 1999: The Financial Relations Board, vice president at the
then-world's largest and oldest investor relations agency with offices in Chica
go, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas. Clients included mo
re than a dozen public corporations with market capitalizations ranging from $50
million to more than $3 billion.
Quickly developed into one of FRB's top executives, rapidly advancing through su
ccessively responsible positions to vice president and providing clients with st
rategic services that enabled their stocks to outpace those of their peers and t
he market in general.
Corporate Communications/Public Relations
August 1993 to January 1995: Katten Muchin & Zavis, then one of the nation's lar
gest law firms with offices in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C.
and Miami; marketing specialist and national media relations adviser.
Provided key support for increased client acquisition and retention through posi
tive media placements and by assisting with editing and production of frequent c
lient newsletters and collateral material for client seminars; initiated and coo
rdinated media contact for the firm's approximately 370 lawyers and assisted att
orneys in preparing for and conducting interviews and other media contacts; wrot
e or edited byline articles for attorneys and arranged for publication in nation
al legal and trade press; contributed to improved staff morale by upgrading (and
editing, laying out and producing) a quarterly tabloid-size internal newsletter
for the firm's approximately 1,000 employees.

1988 to August 1993: Independent public relations consultant (KP Communications)

; also serving as senior consultant to Janet Diederichs & Associates and Scott P
hillips & Associates, two respected Chicago public relations firms, as well as h
andling varied projects for diverse clients.
1985-1988: Janet Diederichs & Associates, a mid-sized Chicago public relations a
gency serving diverse business-to-business, consumer products, high-tech, nonpro
fit and manufacturing clients; account group manager planning and implementing s
trategic public relations plans and supervising account executives carrying out
media relations, issues management, crisis communications, internal communicatio
ns and community relations programs.
Named staff editor to ensure highest quality of news releases and other external
communications.
Journalism
1988-2008: Writer for numerous publications, including frequent contributor to T
he Chicago Tribune with more than 200 articles published, primarily in real esta
te. Many other articles published in Metro Chicago Real Estate, Midwest Real Est
ate News, Real Estate Today, Inland Architect, Illinois Real Estate Journal and
Illinois Realtor.
1984-85: St. Louis Globe-Democrat, a 250,000-circulation daily and weekend newsp
aper; reporter, with coverage emphasis on business, courts and local government
(newspaper went out of business).
1979-84: Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat, a 50,000-circulation daily and Sunday
newspaper serving the Illinois portion of the St. Louis metropolitan area. Posit
ions included:
* city editor, supervising 15 reporters
* business editor/regional editor, supervising six reporters
* Statehouse bureau chief in Springfield, Ill.
* bureau chief, supervising a three-person bureau
* federal courts/special projects reporter
1975-79: Sandusky (Ohio) Register, a 30,000-circulation daily and Sunday newspap
er covering a diverse area midway between Cleveland and Toledo. Positions includ
ed: regional editor supervising a staff of five reporters and 12 correspondents;
county government reporter; courts reporter; police reporter.
Awards
* "Golden Trumpet" from Publicity Club of Chicago for top investor relations pro
gram in the Midwest.
* "Skyline Award" from Chicagoland chapters of the Public Relations Society of A
merica for top investor relations program in area.
* CIPRA (Creativity in Public Relations and Advertising) award for outstanding f
inancial communications program (national award).
* Numerous Financial World, Nicholson and ARC awards for top annual reports
Community Activities
Taproot Foundation, pro bono project manager, assisting non-profit organizations
with their marketing efforts.
Education
Southern Illinois University; Bachelor of Science, journalism; minor French.
Military
U.S. Army; first lieutenant; awarded Army Commendation Medal for meritorious ser
vice.