Marketing and communications, publications.

FEI has a public face, and it is the Marketing and Communications Department. Managing everything from publications to public relations, from member recruiting to Web content, this department has responsibility for defining the image FEI presents to the world ... as well as maintaining that image.

Director Chris Allen, who has been with FEI since 1997, is a veteran of public relations and marketing. Allen has secured prime media placement over the years for FEI on CNBC, in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CFO magazine, and other leading publications. He runs the closely followed FEI/Duke University CFO Outlook Survey, which takes a quarterly read of leading CFOs for their levels of optimism (or pessimism) about the economy. Allen also conducts regular market research of both members and non-members, including all-member surveys.

In addition to PR, Allen has responsibility for all messaging that touches the FEI member--including conveying the value proposition. He also is responsible for new member recruiting, developing national direct marketing campaigns to solicit qualified prospects as new FEI members. "Convincing executives that they need to join FEI is a unique challenge," says Allen. "Essentially, it comes down to, 'What's In It For Me?' If we can successfully answer that question, we can land them as members."

As FEI moves closer to being a Webcentric organization, an increasing amount of information is transmitted electronically. Allen publishes FEI Express, the bi-monthly emerging issues e-newsletter that offers readers the latest legislative and regulatory updates. Managing the content of the FEI Web site is one of Allen's prime concerns, and he is committed to ensuring that only the most current news and information are featured. The Web site is also a source of non-dues revenue, since sponsorships of Express and other online advertising bring in valuable non-dues revenues to FEI.

Allen has a staff of two to help him manage all of this. Karen Lundquist, Senior Manager, Marketing and Communications, came to FEI in 2000 following 20 years in international marketing at AT&T and as an independent consultant. She manages all new member recruiting campaigns and copywrites nearly all messaging that leaves FEI--whether to the membership or the external public. Lundquist is also responsible for executive communications, helping shape speeches, editorials and leadership messages for CEO Colleen Sayther and the Chairman.

Salendria Mabrey, Marketing and Communications Associate, is a relative newcomer to the department, arriving in 2002 fresh from communications grad school. She ably supports the marketing, public relations and publications aspects of the department in numerous ways and has the task of getting FEI Express out every two weeks.

In contrast to Marketing, with its host of products, the overriding focus of the Publications Department is Financial Executive magazine. But producing a 64- to 80-page magazine nine times a year is a big enough challenge for a staff of three, says Director of Publications Jeffrey Marshall, who is the magazine's editor-inchief and joined FEI in May 2000.

Today's staff is highly efficient. Marshall, who was chief editor of U.S. Banker before joining FEI and has been a business writer and editor since 1983 and a journalist since 1974, likens his own role to that of an executive chef, who is involved in all the logistical details and also does some of the cooking--in this case, writing, including feature articles and several of the regular columns appearing in each issue.

"We've developed a highly effective formula that allows us to publish an average of 10 or 11 features in each issue, as well as a half-dozen columns," he says. "That's a lot of content--considerably more than what appears in several competitive magazines." Articles cover a very wide variety of subjects--many shaped by the annual editorial calendar--and are written by professional journalists, consultants and industry experts. In the past couple of years, articles about topical subjects like auditing, pension woes and corporate governance have become increasingly common.

The magazine's production has been helped markedly in the past few years by computerization, which has both cut time and boosted quality, Marshall notes.

Ellen M. Heffes, who has been Managing Editor since joining FEI in late 2000, shares the editing and writing duties and is responsible for a number of columns, including the signature Balance Sheet column at the back of each issue. She brings a strong working knowledge of accounting practices and contacts with thought leaders, having been a columnist for Accounting Today and the creator of scores of audiotapes developed from interviews with accounting and business experts, including prominent authors.

Heffes also is Managing Editor of FEI's Web site, and works with people inside and outside the organization to select, edit and post news about key issues and events of immediate importance to FEI members, and to get FEI content disseminated to external venues, both online and in print.

Art Director Laura Avello, who joined one week after Marshall arrived, has been responsible for the improved "look and feel" of the magazine in recent years. Working largely with photos and illustrations available over the Internet, Avello has put together "a highly compelling visual framework that helps readers connect with what they read," Marshall says, and she has also given FEI marketing materials polish and consistency. Avello's previous background in both advertising and publications and familiarity with computerized production techniques have been enormous assets.

The magazine's biggest challenge in recent years has been the business side: advertising for business-to-business publications slumped in early 2001 and has only recently begun to revive, Marshall notes. "We've won five editorial and design awards in the past three years, and we'd really like to see the broad vendor market recognize the quality of the product and our audience and support FE," Marshall says. "With any luck, as the economy improves, so will our advertising revenue."