Torie Clarke

  • Former Pentagon Spokesperson
  • ABC Commentator
  • Senior Advisor for Comcast Corporation, 2004-2013
  • Contributor to the Tony Kornheiser Show on WTEM Radio



A Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs at the multinational software corporation SAP and on-air commentator for ABC, Torie Clarke has advised some of the world’s top executives. Best known to the public as the chief spokesperson for the Pentagon on 9/11 and the beginning of the Iraq war, Torie Clarke has long been respected within the worlds of politics and public relations as one of the most insightful experts on communication in the age of transparency. The architect of the media "embedding" program in Iraq, Clarke has stood on the leading edge of this transformation of the information environment for more than two decades.

Her latest book, A Survivor's Guide to Washington: How to Succeed Without Losing Your Soul, was released in July 2014.

 

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Rave Reviews About Torie Clarke
“[Torie’s] speaking style was among the best I've ever heard. Her content was just as rich, valuable, honest, open and she was as politically balanced as I had hoped…She was obviously very aware of the dynamics surrounding a presidential election and the effect politicians and the political landscape has on big issues and challenges…[She] communicated them clearly and energetically.”

A Sample of the Groups That Have Hosted Torie Clarke
  • National Cotton Council of America
  • Capital Tiger Bay Club
  • PhRma
  • The Public Forum Institute
  • National Center for Policy Analysis
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • Central Michigan University
  • Seton Hall University
  • Stennis Center for Public Service
  • Sinai Forum
Torie Clarke - 3 with IOP - Get Sharable Link
Explore Talks By Torie Clarke
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Lipstick on a Pig

Sharing the valuable insights from her book, Lipstick on a Pig: Winning in the No-Spin Era by Someone Who Knows the Game, Torie Clarke offers a complete guide to the age of transparency, which is a key communication tool for averting almost any crisis. Entertaining, approachable and full of crucial ...

Sharing the valuable insights from her book, Lipstick on a Pig: Winning in the No-Spin Era by Someone Who Knows the Game, Torie Clarke offers a complete guide to the age of transparency, which is a key communication tool for averting almost any crisis. Entertaining, approachable and full of crucial insight and practical guidance, this timely speech on media relations will resonate with business leaders, public figures and any organization working with the media today.

Communications Strategies – Winning the Information War in the 21st Century

Torie Clarke shares her unique communications perspective, discussing what information strategies will meet the challenges of today’s businesses and which are doomed to fail. ...

Torie Clarke shares her unique communications perspective, discussing what information strategies will meet the challenges of today’s businesses and which are doomed to fail.

How Washington Works (or Doesn’t)

Torie Clarke explains how Washington works and why Congress, Administration, and Media do what they do to get things done. ...

Torie Clarke explains how Washington works and why Congress, Administration, and Media do what they do to get things done.

Social Media – An Information and Communication Revolution

In a media environment in which transparency is inescapable, blogs are better trusted than the front pages and YouTube can draw more viewers than the evening news, the information space reaches everywhere—and everyone, from CEOs to frontline employees, is a communicator. No one understands tha ...

In a media environment in which transparency is inescapable, blogs are better trusted than the front pages and YouTube can draw more viewers than the evening news, the information space reaches everywhere—and everyone, from CEOs to frontline employees, is a communicator. No one understands that dynamic better—or has done more to help politicians, industries and organizations harness the possibilities and navigate the perils of this communications landscape—than Torie Clarke. Clarke draws on her vast experience in public and private sector crises to look at social media’s brief yet powerful history to drive home an imperative for all organizations: “Get engaged or get crushed.”

A Survivor's Guide to Washington

Known for her down-to-earth demeanor, Torie Clarke has operated at the highest levels in the shark tank of the nation’s capital while she built and maintains close friendships on both sides of gaping partisan divides. Sprinkled throughout her speech are anecdotes from Clarke’s three deca ...

Known for her down-to-earth demeanor, Torie Clarke has operated at the highest levels in the shark tank of the nation’s capital while she built and maintains close friendships on both sides of gaping partisan divides. Sprinkled throughout her speech are anecdotes from Clarke’s three decades in the back rooms, boardrooms and green rooms of the nation’s capital as well as advice she solicited from admired and respected Washington figures, such as George Stephanopoulos, Andrea Mitchell, Mary Matalin, and Donna Brazile, to name a few. Based on her book, A Survivor's Guide to Washington, Clarke turns her diverse experiences into practical, personal and professional advice for the hundreds of thousands of professionals, from the aspiring to the accomplished, who struggle to survive in the nation’s capital.

Rising To The Top: Women and Leadership

Currently Senior Vice President for Global Corporate Affairs for leading multinational software company SAP, Torie Clarke has a long history in leadership positions. Her impressive resume includes serving as Senior Advisor to Comcast NBC Universal, running the Washington office of strategic communic ...

Currently Senior Vice President for Global Corporate Affairs for leading multinational software company SAP, Torie Clarke has a long history in leadership positions. Her impressive resume includes serving as Senior Advisor to Comcast NBC Universal, running the Washington office of strategic communications firm Hill & Knowlton, and serving as Vice President of the National Cable Television Association. A globally respected communications leader, Torie Clarke draws on her experience in the corporate world to discuss women in leadership roles and communicating effectively to rise to the top. She shares a snapshot into her career journey including key takeaways that will resonate, engage, and inspire.

Clicks to Castrophe

In this speech, Torie Clarke discusses how cybersecurity threats can undermine a life, a company and world order. Prevention demands new thinking, new behaviors and unimaginable global cooperation. Torie Clarke draws on experience in three administrations, the Department of Defense, and as counselor ...

In this speech, Torie Clarke discusses how cybersecurity threats can undermine a life, a company and world order. Prevention demands new thinking, new behaviors and unimaginable global cooperation. Torie Clarke draws on experience in three administrations, the Department of Defense, and as counselor to Fortune 500 executives to tackle the risks and occasional opportunities posed by cybersecurity threats. She addresses three critical steps for addressing cybersecurity issues:

  • Know the threat
  • Change your behavior
  • Drive cooperation

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A Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs at the multinational software corporation SAP and on-air commentator for ABC, Torie Clarke has advised some of the world’s top executives. Best known to the public as the chief spokesperson for the Pentagon on 9/11 and the beginning of the Iraq war, Ms. Clarke has long been respected within the worlds of politics and public relations as one of the most insightful experts on communication in the age of transparency. The architect of the media “embedding” program in Iraq, Clarke has stood on the leading edge of this transformation of the information environment for more than two decades.

In a media environment in which transparency is inescapable, blogs are better trusted than the front pages and YouTube can draw more viewers than the evening news, the information space reaches everywhere—and everyone, from CEOs to frontline employees, is a communicator. No one understands that dynamic better—or has done more to help politicians, industries, and organizations harness the possibilities and navigate the perils of this new communications landscape—than Torie Clarke.

A nationally acclaimed expert on crisis communications as well as public outreach, she has been Senior Advisor of Communications and Government Relations to Comcast, President of Bozell Eskew advertising, head of the Washington office of the internationally known public relations firm of Hill and Knowlton and Vice President of the National Cable Telecommunications Association.

As Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs during the first moments of the war on terror, press secretary for George H.W. Bush’s 1992 re-election campaign and more, Ms. Clarke has witnessed history—and helped to make it—from vantage points ranging from Air Force One to the war room inside the Pentagon on 9/11. She has appeared on programs ranging from 60 Minutes to Good Morning America to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. She has been a close advisor to Arizona Senator John McCain since his early days in Congress as well as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative during the first Bush Administration.

In her book, Lipstick on a Pig: Winning in the No-Spin Era by Someone Who Knows the Game, Clarke offers a complete guide to the age of transparency. Entertaining, approachable and full of crucial insight and practical guidance, Lipstick on a Pig is indispensable not only for business figures and media relations specialists, but also for the vast range of communicators whose words and actions shape the public image of their organizations today. 

Built around a series of questions Clarke has received in private conversations as well as through hundreds of public appearances, her latest, first-of-its-kind book, A Survivor’s Guide to Washington: How to Succeed Without Losing Your Soul, includes advice she solicited from admired and respected Washington figures. Sprinkled throughout are anecdotes from Clarke’s three decades in the back rooms, boardrooms and green rooms of the nation’s capital.

Clarke is a frequent contributor on the The Tony Kornheiser Show on WTEM Radio.