Barri Rafferty is the head of Communications and Brand Management, where she oversees Wells Fargo’s reputation management, enterprise brand strategy, external and internal communications, brand advertising, sponsorships, and heritage and museums. She directs a team of more than 500 communicators and marketing professionals who serve various stakeholders, including the company’s approximately 266,000 employees. A strategic and collaborative leader, Barri plays a key role in helping redefine the company’s culture, voice and narrative.

Barri joined Wells Fargo in July 2020 from Ketchum, where she was the agency’s president and CEO — the first woman at the time to be the CEO of a top-five public relations agency. She transformed the agency into a marketing communications consultancy, and has been an intrapraneur, launching and evolving businesses from digital, social, analytics, influencer, sports, entertainment and experiential. She also directed Access Communications, H&S, Brandzeichen, Emanate and Interfuse.

She is active in the Public Relations Society of America New York Chapter was awarded the PRSA President’s Award in 2012.  She serves on the sustainability task force for the World Economic Forum, has helped found a women’s leadership network at Ketchum and Omnicom, and is a recipient of the Plank Center’s Milestones in Mentoring Award. She is a member of the PR Council’s board of directors and sits on the national board of StepUp.

Barri has spoken at TEDxEast and the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. She has also been a repeated guest speaker in BIC’s @BIC lecture series.