Executive Communications Excellence

The 2025 winner in this category is Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) for their work on Customer at the Heart Shows the Power of Putting the Customer First. 

Pacific Gas & Electric rebuilt customer trust by emphasizing responsibility for customer experience. Their strategy included "Customer at the Heart" videos featuring executives, branding efforts, newsletters, newscasts, animations, a peer recognition board, and an awards show. They launched the "Customer at the Heart Affordability Toolkit" to aid employees in discussing high bills. Leadership engaged in role-playing to disseminate information effectively. Judges lauded their comprehensive approach, which unified teams and improved customer satisfaction. Employee engagement soared, with a 12-point increase in job satisfaction. The initiative's clear business impact and success evidence made it exceptional.

Watch their video to learn more!

Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) award-winning “Customer at the Heart” initiative demonstrates the impact of authentic, executive-led communication in building trust and driving engagement.

Gartner’s research, “How Generative AI Is Used to Support Executive Communications,” reveals how leaders can harness GenAI to enhance the clarity, efficiency, and resonance of executive messaging—while managing new risks and maintaining an authentic voice. Discover how GenAI can help your organization elevate executive communications, connect with key audiences, and deliver measurable business outcomes, just as PG&E has done.

Download this Gartner research to:

  • Boost efficiency in executive messaging
  • Tailor communications for greater impact
  • Safeguard authenticity and manage AI risks

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    Q&A with Gartner Experts on Executive Communications

    Gartner experts address some common and pressing questions about executive communications that are most relevant to leaders. Read through to navigate this ever-evolving landscape effectively.

    Successful Communications teams build executives’ understanding of the communications strategy and support them in dialoguing effectively with internal and external stakeholders.

    We suggest exploring three opportunities depending on your team’s capabilities:

    1. Individual coaching: Provide personalized coaching and support for seasoned leaders who communicate as the face of the organization 
    2. Facilitated training: Formal training modules for leaders who communicate in their business areas
    3. Small group practice: Peer-to-peer learning opportunities to improve dialogue capabilities

    To effectively drive trust, Communications leaders must support executives in 

    1) directly engaging employees with dialogue, and 

    2) providing context behind strategic decisions. 

    These two approaches — collectively called executive sensemaking — have the highest impact on improving organizational trust of all the message and leader characteristics Gartner tested.

    As early adopters of GenAI tools who are sensitive to the risks of their use, chief communications officers should focus on use cases that have high potential to improve the efficiency and quality of executive communications, such as content drafting and tailoring. Communications leaders should also engage executives with responsible uses of these tools and provide opportunities to share the best practices.