Episode 39: Path to CCO with Anthony Farina
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara sits down with , a seasoned global communications leader whose career spans journalism, government, and corporate communications at the highest levels. Anthony currently leads Corporate Communications for Fujifilm in the Americas and previously served as Chief Communications Officer at CSL, where he built a global communications function from the ground up. Together, Tara and Anthony explore what it really takes to grow into senior leadership in communications — not just in title, but in...
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Episode 38: Communicators’ Word for 2026
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara opens the new season with a declaration — not a trend forecast or resolution — naming the official word for communications professionals in 2026: authority. Building on last year’s word, no, Tara explains why the moment has shifted. While boundaries and discernment remain critical, communicators are facing a deeper challenge: being held accountable for outcomes without being empowered early enough to influence them. This episode unpacks why burnout, frustration, and stagnation persist...
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Episode 37: Bonus Episode: Life Admin – with Amy Lockmiller and Jessica Onick
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this bonus episode, Tara sits down with Raise the Tide™ members (and life admin evangelists) and to talk about something most senior communicators quietly struggle with: the invisible workload of running a life, a home, and a career all at once. Instead of another conversation about “doing it all,” they get honest about why it’s not sustainable, how they’ve built support systems like house managers, family assistants, and concierge services, and why getting help isn’t laziness or entitlement —...
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Episode 36: You Don’t Suck at Networking (Plus Some News)
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host, Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara gets real about one of the biggest myths she hears from women regularly: that they “suck at networking.” Spoiler alert, they don’t. They just don’t network like men. Tara explains how traditional, low-touch “networking” settings … PRSA or IABC events, chamber breakfasts,, award dinners, conference receptions … were built for how men connect and network, not women.. Instead of trying to “fix” women or force them to network like men, which doesn’t...
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Episode 35: What We’ve Learned from the Path to CCO+ Series
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara steps back to reflect on the biggest insights emerging from her ongoing Path to the CCO+ conversations — and speaks directly to communications professionals who may feel that the CCO seat, or even strategic influence, still feels out of reach. Drawing from her interviews with Judy Rader, Stephanie Roberts, Libby May, and Bianca Olson, Tara distills the common threads that define today’s most successful communications leaders. She explores how communicators can elevate their roles from...
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Episode 34: The Path to CCO+ with Bianca Olson
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara sits down with Bianca Olson, Chief Communications Officer at HMH (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)—a learning company focused on the K–12 market—where she reports directly to the CEO. Bianca traces her path from agency PR during the dot-com era to leading a modern communications function inside a complex, mission-driven organization. She shares how she broadened from external PR to a full corporate scope (internal, external, CSR, and more), why relationship-building is the cornerstone of...
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Episode 33: The Path to CCO+ with Libby May
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara sits down with , Chief External Affairs and Communications Officer at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)—the nation’s largest provider of nonprofit higher education, serving over 200,000 learners. Libby shares how she built and now leads a 65-person External Affairs and Communications team encompassing communications, events, alumni engagement, donor and community relations, and government affairs—reporting to the university president. She explains why SNHU intentionally...
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Episode 32: The Path to CCO+ with Stephanie Roberts
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara sits down with , Chief Communications Officer at Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems, a global company within the Hitachi Ltd. family. Joining from Japan, Stephanie shares how she leads a 25+ person global function spanning Japan, the U.S., Europe, China, and Southeast Asia—and why Communications now reports directly to the CEO. Stephanie walks through how she evolved Communications from a department nested under “sustainability” into a centralized, C-suite–level function that...
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Episode 31: The Path to CCO+ with Judy Rader
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara sits down with Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Chief Communications Officer at Constellation, the nation’s largest producer of clean energy. Judy shares what it takes to lead a 60-person corporate affairs function at a Fortune 200 company, why she holds both the CCO and SVP of Corporate Affairs titles, and how her team secured and maintains its critical seat at the executive table. For anyone aspiring to a leadership role in communications, this conversation is...
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Episode 30: The Path to CCO
Communications Business Advisor
Welcome to the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with host Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara kicks off a new season by tackling one of the most pressing questions for senior communications professionals: what does a clear career path look like in a field that often feels misunderstood, oversimplified, and muddy? The Reality of Q4 for Comms Teams Tara opens with a candid look at the fall and winter season—when benefit enrollments, IT security pushes, engagement surveys, and town halls collide with corporate restructuring, financial reporting, and external events. It’s a...
info_outlineWelcome to the final episode in 2024 of the Communications Business Advisor™ podcast with your host, Tara McDonagh. In this episode, Tara addresses a specific challenge faced by communications leaders looking to elevate their strategic role in corporate environments.
In this episode, we explore…
No: the professional communicators’ word of 2024 was “no.” And it raised some eyebrows and also some shouts of enthusiasm. In this episode we talk about all things saying no. From how to navigate getting to ‘no’ with co-workers, executives and even within your own team. Boundaries - not just setting them, but keeping them - is critical for sanity and impact.
Partner: Tara emphasizes the shift from being seen as a service department to becoming true partners with business areas, working together to achieve shared business goals. This word is less of a lightning rod, but just as critical as we proceed to elevate our function. That’s why ‘partner’ is the word of 2025.
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Want some help so you’re no longer alone in navigating all of this? Swing by www.taramcdonagh.com
Shoutout to our sponsor, Raise the Tide™, for helping women in communications working in a corporate environment reach new career heights.