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Richard G. Claeys is Vice President, West, at RKS Research & Consulting. Based in Silicon Valley, he extends the reach of RKS product and service offerings throughout the Western U.S. and writes the monthly California Customer Insights newsletter, distributed exclusively to RKS national clients. He is also responsible for RKS national industry communications and news media relations programs. Prior to joining RKS, Mr. Claeys served as Vice President and Senior Advisor at Neale-May & Partners, a $6 million strategic marketing and communications firm headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with offices in New York City and Austin, Texas. At Neale-May, he led account teams serving clients in the energy, healthcare, and professional services fields and counseled senior executives of client firms on strategic communications issues. In the energy field, Mr. Claeys spent nearly 10 years in charge of the Corporate Communications Division at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). He has also handled consulting assignments for such clients as Southern California Edison/Edison International, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), A.T.Kearney, Inc., Ernst & Young, Coopers & Lybrand, and Addison, Seefeld and Brew, an international branding and identity firm with leading utility clients. Earlier, Mr. Claeys held senior communications positions at Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (now part of CIGNA), and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York. He earned a BA in English from St. Mary's College of California and an MS in Journalism from Boston University. He is a founding director of the San Francisco Public Relations Academy, a member of the Advisory Board, San Jose State University, and past chair of the College of Fellows, Public Relations Society of America. He remains active as a member of the Institute of Management Consultants and the Arthur W. Page Society. | 