Ellen English
Ellen English
Ellen English has nearly 20 years’ experience in corporate communications, much of it focused on internal and executive communications.
She began her career at Merck, where she led internal communications, corporate reputation and branding work, as well as executive communications for the company’s most senior leaders. During her almost decade-long Merck tenure, she was director of global internal communications during the merger between Merck and Schering-Plough, and she also assisted with internal communications for the Vioxx product withdrawal, the sale of Medco, and three CEO transitions.
While with the company, she was highly regarded for her writing and executive communications skills. Ellen is proud to have supported executive correspondence and speeches for all three Merck CEOs during her time with the company. She ended her Merck career as director of executive communications for the company’s support function leaders, including the chief information officer, chief compliance officer and chief financial officer.
Following Merck, Ellen spent two years at Google, serving as executive communications point for several of the company’s senior sales leaders, as well as handling internal communications and culture building for the growing New York City office. At Google, Ellen supported a variety of communications challenges, including company acquisitions, major organizational changes, and cultural and leadership issues.
After Google, Ellen spent six years at boutique corporate communications agency SPI Group, a Ruder Finn subsidiary focused on bringing innovative technologies to internal communications. There, Ellen led the firm’s strategic communications and editorial efforts, using both traditional tactics and leading technologies to solve her clients’ communications challenges. As one of the agency’s most senior leaders, she also practiced what she preached, building a high-performing, 16-person team to manage client needs and helping double revenue in just three years.
In addition to her internal communications work for clients like Merck, Covance, Glenmark, Merck Animal Health, and Regeneron, at SPI Group Ellen also helped leaders at Bayer, Merck, and Merck Animal Health find their voices and bring authentic leadership to their employees. She continues to work with many of these same companies today.
When not serving as a corporate communications maven, Ellen spends time with her three daughters and fellow Duke Blue Devil husband, Jason. She serves as her family’s CEO, COO, CMO and CFO. Their Labrador Retriever Lucy adds to the beautiful chaos.
First Name Last Name
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.