About the Author

Gerald Baron is president of Baron & Company, the premier marketing and public relations firm in Northwest Washington. He is also the founder and president of AudienceCentral, the leading provider of crisis communication information technology. Previously, he was a regional magazine publisher, co-founder of a successful vertical market software company and a university professor. He holds an MA in Communications from Wheaton College and the Doctor of Humanities (Honoris Causa) from Trinity Western University.

Mr. Baron is the creator of PIER and the concept of virtual communication centers. PIER (Public Information and Emergency Response) has been adopted for use within the US Coast Guard and by many of the leading oil companies, as well as industry leaders such as Boeing, Allstate and WestFarm Foods. The system has been used effectively in many major events including Hurricane Katrina, the Selandang Ayu sinking in Alaska, the BP Texas City refinery accident, and the G8 Summit in Georgia. As a communication responder to the Olympic Pipeline accident and several other events of significant public interest, Mr. Baron recognized the need for an improved technological solution if companies and organizations are going to meet the challenges of the instant news and Internet-dominated world.

Mr. Baron has written several books, including Now is Too Late: Corporate Survival in an Era of Instant News, published by Financial Times/Prentice Hall in 2003, and the completely revised and updated Now Is Too Late², published in 2006. He is a frequent speaker at national public relations and industry conferences.