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An Interview with Richard Edelman

An Interview with Richard Edelman

by Richard Edelman

President and CEO of Edelman

Jun 23, 2025

Compendium

A: We saw the Battle in Seattle in 1999 when the protestors invaded the World Trade Organization meeting to fight back against globalization. In a certain way, how prescient they were. But, what we really wanted to understand was the power of non-governmental organizations and how they rank relative to business, government, and media. And we were shocked to find that, in fact, they were the most trusted institution. It is worth noting that this was, in a certain way, voting for the “other,” not business and not government.

And that continued for nearly 20 years until the COVID pandemic, when business took over the lead spot, because it was the big bazooka to fight the disease. And since then, it has been business, which again has amazed us because business is now the only one that is seen as both ethical and competent.

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