FleishmanHillard Brussels today announced the appointment of Ray Pinto as Senior Vice President and head of its technology team. Mr. Pinto brings more than 18 years of senior government relations and communications strategies to FleishmanHillard’s wide range of clients on technology policy issues that interface with other sectors including the Digital Single Market and the General Data Protection Regulation.
“Today’s appointment marks FleishmanHillard’s continued commitment to provide counsel on strategic areas of importance to our clients. Ray will provide insights, guidance and advice on emerging technology policies and regulation. He will also be pivotal to convening a dialogue between our clients and their stakeholders,” said Caroline Wunnerlich, Managing Director of FleishmanHillard, Brussels.
“Ray joins at a crucial time, as the disruptive element of Internet and Communications Technologies is sharpening the focus of policymakers on many sectors from healthcare, energy and manufacturing to financial services.””
“FleishmanHillard is the clear logical step in my career. It has an incomparable strategic position in its offering of consultants with deep experience in many vertical markets. I am convinced it will be an accelerator to best utilise my passion for technology and how it impacts both society and the economy,” said Mr. Pinto. “I look forward to cementing an approach to the policymaking process that will bring more clarity on what are technology’s costs, risks and more importantly benefits. This clarity is an important first step in the dialogue to create sustainable socio-economic solutions.”
Biographical Background
Ray Pinto was most recently Senior Government Relations Manager at Microsoft EMEA. Mr. Pinto has a proven track record in relationship-building and communications, notably in developing impactful relationships with key stakeholders in the EU institutions and national and international political organisations.
Over the last ten years Mr. Pinto has played a critical role developing Microsoft’s government relations strategies and capabilities in Brussels and across the EMEA region. He also served as the company’s lead spokesperson on a range of policy issues, including innovation, health, education, energy, environment, IPR, competition, cybersecurity, privacy and data protection, among others.
At Microsoft (2004-2015) he managed high visibility and high stakes issues, through his coordination and management of the company’s successful reputation-building campaigns for Brussels and wider Europe, his outreach support to the European Commission on patent reform and competition matters, supporting the public sector team on funding opportunities, and his driving of an EU dialogue on ehealth and sustainability concerns regarding data centres and hardware.
Mr. Pinto has also held several industry association positions, most recently his continued role as the OECD’s Business and Industry Advisory Committee’s vice-chair on Health Policy. He has also founded several cross-industry groups with government elites, media, and leading academics, for example the Science Business Innovation Board.
Before joining Microsoft, Mr. Pinto worked as an independent communications consultant, and previously held positions in marketing and public relations agencies, Augustone and Text 100 (1997 – 2004).
Mr. Pinto is a graduate of McGill University (Montreal, Canada) with a degree in political science and a certificate in public relations. Along with his native English, Mr. Pinto speaks French and basic Spanish.
