When crafting press releases about leadership changes, maintaining a professional tone conveys confidence while establishing trust with readers.
Because leadership changes can happen for various reasons (positive and negative), companies should use press releases to carefully explain why they’ve hired a new CEO and how this change will benefit customers, investors and others.
An exciting but stressful time for any company, leadership changes require a fast response to prevent the public from reacting negatively. Press releases provide an efficient way to spread the word about leadership changes that can reach as many people as possible.
Use the five W’s – who, what, where, why and when to explain leadership changes to readers. An effective release should discuss the need for these changes but also serve as a way to introduce the new CEO.
Avoid long-winded explanations, illogical rationalizations or untrue statements when writing the release. The goal of the press release is to maintain the reader’s trust. This is especially important for publicly traded companies or companies that rely on private investors or long-term business partnerships.
In addition, craft the release using short sentences and paragraphs so readers can skim through and quickly digest the information. Since readers browse through lots of documents and materials daily, it’s necessary to present information as clearly and concisely as possible.
Press releases provide an excellent opportunity for leadership to present information in their own words directly to readers. Be as transparent as possible by providing as many details and facts.
Follow the traditional format when writing a press release. Include a catchy headline, summary, introduction and body, conclusion, boilerplate or About Us section.
Releases that follow this format have a greater chance of being read and distributed by journalists, blog masters and other readers. Maintaining a professional tone helps the reader focus on the facts presented.
What Should A New CEO Press Release Say?
A proper introduction of a new CEO includes the person’s name, current or last leadership position, experience within an industry, how and why they were selected.
If possible, you should interview the new CEO to get a better sense of their vision for the company, how they feel about their new position and any other thoughts they may have about the future.
The release should feature a ‘future-forward’ attitude rather than a ‘past-looking’ attitude to hold the reader’s interest. Maintaining a positive attitude also helps dispel any negative rumors or gossip, especially if the former CEO left the company on bad terms.
Leadership change announcements should provide all the information necessary to satisfy reader curiosity. Use quotes from company executives, the new CEO, the outgoing CEO (if applicable), employees, close friends and colleagues to give readers a better sense of who the person is and what they can do for the company.
You can provide personal information about the new CEO as long as you have permission. Readers like to know about a person’s hobbies, family, philosophies, outlook on life, etc.
Providing these supporting details makes the new CEO more relatable and likable to readers. Depending on the CEO’s experience, the public may already know the type of leadership they provide. Adding a few personal details in the release can help highlight characteristics and personality traits the public doesn’t already know.
Use plain language when writing about the new CEO. Avoid over-selling and over-promising when discussing the new CEO’s plans or vision for the company.
Savvy journalists and readers appreciate transparency and honesty. They just want to know what’s going on, when it’s going to happen and what to expect going forward. Use the five W’s to ensure you provide all the relevant information.
Creating A New CEO Press Release
Effective, well-written press releases typically contain 300 to 500 words. Concise press releases provide all the relevant information readers should know about the topic.
Start by crafting an attention-grabbing headline. While you should avoid hyperbole or outrageous statements, your headline should compel readers to read the entire release.
Include your company name and the name of the new CEO in the headline. Underneath the headline, provide a two or three-sentence summary that gives the reader a sense of what they’re about to read.
Incorporate the five W’s into the introduction and body paragraphs. Try to include as much pertinent information in the introduction as possible. Most readers will quickly read through the summary and introduction paragraphs searching for the relevant information first.
Throughout the release, provide supporting details that help tell a complete story. The press release body usually features three or four paragraphs that expand on information presented in the introduction.
In the body, you can add quotes from reputable sources, testimonials, statistics and facts about the company. You can also discuss the new CEO’s experience and skillsets.
Quotes from executives, employees, HR representatives or quotes from investors, business partners and others will help maintain reader interest.
The more transparent you can be about the new CEO and why they were hired, the more readers will trust the company’s decision. Effective press releases maintain a professional, authoritative tone that evokes confidence and strength, especially when explaining leadership changes.
End the release with a short conclusion paragraph that iterates all the important information followed by a boilerplate or About Us section. In the boilerplate, include information about the company when it was founded, goods and services provided, etc.
Proofread the release before submitting it to ensure proper grammar and punctuation. Proofreading also helps ensure that you included all the necessary information readers need to know about the new CEO.
Why Write A New CEO Press Release?
- Introduce the new CEO to the public
- Provide information about how and why the new CEO was hired
- Project confidence that the company has hired the right person
Tips For Writing A New CEO Press Release
- Gather information about the new CEO before you start writing
- Include meaningful quotes that provide valuable information to readers
- Proofread the release to ensure proper grammar and punctuation
