Barb Riedesel Iverson, chair of Greenlee’s Advisory Council, recently retired after more than 40 years in the profession and with her final 20 years as president of Weber Shandwick’s robust financial services industry practice. She now consults for organizations and companies, plus takes on writing and editing projects.
Weber Shandwick, a global public relations firm with headquarters in New York City, is viewed as a powerhouse in the financial services industry. Under Barb’s leadership, the financial services industry practice specialized in retirement services, banking, insurance, asset and wealth management, electronic payments, and tax compliance and administration.
As the leader of the 300-person practice, Barb worked with Weber Shandwick offices around the world to provide seamless service to well-known financial services clients including EY, the U.S. Treasury, Bank of America, Transamerica, MasterCard Worldwide, the Federal Reserve Banks, State Farm, TIAA, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Prudential, New York Life, Nasdaq, Cerberus Capital Management, Life Happens, the Internal Revenue Service, Envestnet and Brown Brothers Harriman. Barb has long been considered an industry thought leader in the areas of retirement services and financial education. She joined Weber Shandwick in 1996 and served on the firm’s global executive management team until leaving the firm in December 2016. She continues to live in Minneapolis but has always spent a good share of her time in New York City and Washington, D.C.
Barb earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Iowa State University in 1976 and has done graduate work in public affairs at George Washington University. She continues to serve on the board of DCIIA, the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association, which is a member-driven non-profit organization made up of the largest 401(k) providers in the country. She is also a long-time member the Public Relations Society of America.
Barb was recognized with the James W. Schwartz Award, the highest honor conferred by the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, in 2012. The same year, she was chosen to present the Chamberlin Lecture, sponsored by ISU alumni Margaret and L. Eugene Chamberlin. She has served on Greenlee’s Advisory Council since 2010. Barb is a native of Glidden, Iowa.