• Shel has nearly 30 years of organizational communications experience in both corporate and consulting environments. He is experienced in employee communications, compensation and benefits communications, corporate public relations, media relations, financial communications, investor relations, and marketing communications. He specializes in integrating technology into communications strategies and his expertise includes strategic communications planning, change management, organizational culture, communicating business initiatives, and communications research.
  • He is particularly focused on strategic employee communications designed to achieve measurable results linked directly to organization strategies, goals and objectives – and on the application of online technology to achieve those results.
  • His clients have included The Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Intel, Sears, PepsiCo, Land O’ Lakes, Petrobras, Aetna, John Deere, Manulife Financial, Hewitt Associates, General Mills, USAA, Applied Materials, Symantec, Raytheon, The World Bank, Amdocs, Disney, FedEx, Freescale Semiconductor, The International Monetary Fund, National Geographic, The American Red Cross, Monsanto and The Home Depot of Canada.
  • Before forming Holtz Communication + Technology in 1996, Shel was senior communications consultant and the communications practice leader for Alexander & Alexander Consulting Group in San Francisco, California. (A&ACG has since been acquired by Aon Consulting.)
  • Before joining A&ACG, Shel was the director of corporate communications for Allergan, Inc and Mattel, Inc. He also has worked for William M. Mercer, Inc. and ARCO.
  • Shel is a regular speaker on topics surrounding the application of online technology to strategic organizational communication. He speaks regularly at IABC and Ragan Communication conferences.
  • He has authored eight books and manuals on the subject of applying online technology to organizational communication. His most recent book is “Tactical Transparency,” co-written with John C. Havens and published by Jossey-Bass, a Wiley imprint. He currently is working on a new book addressing the collaborative economy with co-author J.D. Lasica.
  • Shel is a five-time winner of IABC’s Gold Quill award. Shel earned his IABC accreditation (ABC/Accredited Business Communicator) in 1984.  In 2005, Shel was named an IABC Fellow, the highest honor IABC confers on its members.
  • Shel is a Founding Fellow of the Society for New Communication Research.
  • Shel serves on the advisory board of The Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media. He was named a Platinum Fellow of The Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media in 2014.
  • Shel is an early blogger (beginning his blog in 2004) and a pioneer podcaster (launching For Immediate Release with his co-host, Neville Hobson, in January 2005).
  • Shel graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from California State University, Northridge, in 1976. He lives in Concord CA.