Fred Hoar has shaped marketing, communications and investor relations strategies for some of America's seminal technology and consumer companies, from Apple to Fairchild to RCA. In 1999 he was named one of the "Top 100 Most Influential Public Relations People of the 20th Century" by the authoritative magazine, PRWEEK. He joined Miller/Shandwick Technologies in 1989 and became chairman five years later. The global communications firm represents a wide range of clients, including conglomerates such as Agilent, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft in addition to a number of entrepreneurial firms. Acquired by The Interpublic Group, Shandwick was merged in 2001 with another PR agency within the Group.

In the early 1980s, Hoar was vice president of communications for Apple Computer, taking the company public and launching the Lisa and Macintosh computers. He was also vice president of marking services for Fairchild; vice president of communications for Genetech, director of worldwide communications for Raychem and division vice president of advertising and public affairs at RCA.

A frequent keynote speaker on the subjects of marketing and technology, Hoar has addressed such audiences as the Business Hall of Fame, the Commonwealth Club, the Churchill Club, the Munich Business Angels, the Software Development Forum, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Technologic Partners, Dataquest, Lehman Bros., the SIA and the Association for Corporate Growth.

He holds an A.B. degree cum laude in American history and literature from Harvard and an M.A. in journalism from the University of Iowa. He began his career working with the Associated Press and as instructor of English and journalism at the University of Northern Iowa. A founder of the Silicon Valley Band of Angels, Hoar is also a member of the advisory boards of Junior Achievement of Silicon Valley and the Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business.

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