Katja Fašnik (Ljubljana), CEO of key7 communications and cybersecurity (www.key7.si), President of PRCA Slovenia, and Crisis Communications Member Leader at Forbes Councils, once again received two prestigious awards at this year’s World Communication Forum in Davos, Switzerland: first prize for Best Crises Communication Leader and second prize for Best Leader of the Future. She also participated in a roundtable discussion. According to the majority of participants, Katja was one of the most inspiring figures at this flagship annual event of the global PR industry, presided over by PR icon Maxim Behram.
The DAVOS WCFA Summit & Awards program lasted for two days and brought together over 150 communicators from around the world.
https://www.wcfaglobal.com/davos-communication-summit/homepage/2025
The program included five roundtable discussions, among other segments:
- The impact of artificial intelligence on the focus of public relations
- Future trends in public relations and digital marketing
- Public relations and the evolution of political communication
- Strategic communication and crisis management in today’s market context
- Regional aspects of public relations – adapting communication strategies to the local cultural context
Katja with Maxim Behar
Katja was a speaker at the fourth roundtable, which addressed:
- Expanding global market presence: Effective communication strategies for entering new markets
- Greenwashing: Analyzing false sustainability claims or misleading practices, myths about sustainability (e.g., electric vehicles), the impact on brand reputation, and best practices in crisis management
- Reputation crises in major industries: A look at crisis management practices in the oil and gas industry (climate change accountability), the aviation industry (Boeing safety issues), and retail (Elon Musk’s support for Trump and its effect on Tesla’s corporate image)
- Rebuilding trust through strategic storytelling
- The Spiral of Silence and Chernobyl
Moderator: Catherine Hernandez-Blades, Independent Board Director (USA)
Panelists:
- Katja Fašnik, CEO of key7 communications (Slovenia)
- Syed Bukhari, Head of Strategic Communications and Branding at the American University of Sharjah (United Arab Emirates)
- André Williams, Global Strategic Communication Consultant at Answer Key PR, Instructor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (USA)
- Bärbel Hestert-Vecoli, Managing Director of Corporate Affairs at Edelman (Germany)
After a full day of panel discussions, a gala dinner and award ceremony was held. Following strong placements in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, Katja once again won the first prize for Best Crises Communication Leader and the second prize in the Leaders of the Future category.
Katja, Maxim Behar President of WCFA and Mary Beth West (USA) President of the Jury
