Eric Bergman, ABC, APR, MC

Eric has been a self-employed communicator since 1985 and has managed many communications programs including advertising campaigns, media relations, and issues management.

Today he owns Bergman and Associates and focuses on communications training and issues management for senior leadership. He has been accredited since 1991 and has been a key influencer locally and globally in the areas of entrepreneurship, ethics and accreditation.

Eric joined IABC in Edmonton in 1982. He later moved to Toronto and started volunteering at the local level as a writer with Communicator, the IABC/Toronto newsletter. He eventually moved onto the board when IABC/Toronto had fewer than 600 full-time members. He overhauled the financial practices of the chapter and hired a professional accountant. Eric then took the role as VP Membership and led the firstever membership survey in Toronto.

Eric was President of IABC/Toronto in 1994 when the chapter received Awards of Merit in the Chapter Management Awards for Professional Development and Financial Management and for the first time had a membership that hit 1,000, making it the largest chapter in IABC.

He participated on the district board and then moved to international level positions – on the international accreditation council and the program advisory committee for IABC’s 2000, 2001 and 2002 international conferences. Eric has marked many accreditation exams in the past several years. He has personally mentored many IABC/Toronto members pursuing accreditation to help demystify the process. He has accepted speaking opportunities on Entrepreneurship in Canada and at the International Conference and recently created the ethics quiz, which is now part of the portfolio portion of the accreditation process. He is passionate about the value of accreditation and the importance of ethics.