Scott Fosgard - CEO

Fosgard started working as a journalist in 1982 and, after stints at two small, Michigan dailies, he joined his first PR agency in 1985.  By 1989, he was the communications manager for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the year NAIAS went from being just another regional auto show to the most important auto show in the world.

Fosgard was recruited to Chrysler in 1990, where he joined a “superstar” PR staff that propelled this small car company from bankruptcy to Fortune’s Company of the Year (1996) in the span of 15 years.  He also served as Director of Communications for USCAR, a collaborative research effort between Ford, GM and Chrysler.

In late 1999, GM wooed Fosgard from Chrysler to serve as its Director of Advanced Technology and Design Communications.  During his 13 years at GM, Fosgard led the communications team’s efforts promoting fuel cells, electric vehicles, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles and helped launch the Chevy Volt concept car at the 2007 NAIAS in Detroit.  GM was the first car company to introduce the world to vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology and the first to show an autonomous vehicle (2008 CES, a full two years before Google announced its plan to make autonomous vehicles).

Fosgard was recruited to Ford’s Team Detroit, a collection of powerhouse PR agencies in 2013.  There he helped launch the new Ford F150, the most popular vehicle in automotive history and best known for its breakthrough all-aluminum body and lightweight engines.  He also helped Ford introduce its first autonomous car at the 2014 NAIAS in Detroit. 

From there, Fosgard joined Tier 1 auto supplier Delphi.  Between 2015-2017, Delphi was the envy of the auto supply industry, and dominated headlines on everything from autonomous vehicles to data monetization.

Fosgard is passionate about his work, about Southeast Michigan, the pending transportation transformation and about his local sports teams, but nothing competes with the time he gets with his special-needs son, Cory, sailing on Byram Lake, about an hour north of Detroit.

What is the best part about owning your own agency?

I get to work on projects that excite me; not just one subject, but all of them at the same time. When I worked for large corporations, I was limited to the company's product portfolio.  Now, I'm not.  If is a great story, I'm interested.

Who's had the greatest influence on you as a PR professional? 

Steve Harris and Larry Burns.  First, Steve Harris, former VP of Communications for both Chrysler and GM, from 1987-2009.  Steve influenced an entire generation of automotive PR people, including Tony Cervone, Jason Vines, Chris Preuss, Tom Kowaleski and Julie Hamp.  Steve believes in building a relationship with reporters based on mutual trust.  Second, I would acknowledge Larry Burns, former GM strategy board member and EVP of R & D and Product Planning.  Larry wanted to reinvent GM before someone outside the company reshaped its future.  He focused on those societal concerns where the automobile's growth was limited by the problems it caused -- affordability, safety, congestion and parking, energy and emissions.  I was fortunate enough to work for Larry for about 10 years.

What is your most memorable project? 

There are so many, a White House press event commemorating the one-year anniversary of something called the Partnership of a New Generation of Vehicles during the Clinton administration, two major stories on 60 Minutes while at GM and the introduction of both the Chevy Volt concept at the 2007 NAIAS and the Autonomy skateboard at the 2002 NAIAS show.  But the one that stands out is the first autonomous vehicle ever shown at CES in 2008, two years before Google would announce its intentions to build a self-driving vehicle.