Attila Schillinger joined the School of Journalism and Communication faculty in fall 2023. He directs the Strategic Communication Master's Program at the SOJC Portland. Based in Eugene, he is a professor of practice dedicated to sharing his more than 25 years of international corporate and sustainability communication experience with students. With a background in business law, corporate communication and climate change specialized conflict resolution, Schillinger consulted some of the top European and global brands, including Microsoft, SAP, Nestle, L'Oreal, GSK, Lilly, Pfizer, DuPont, T-Mobile, AIG, Heineken, Asahi, Carlsberg, McDonalds's, Coca-Cola HBC, Tesco, RWE Energy, Citi, Deutsche Bank, EasyJet, Lufthansa and Delta Airlines to name but a few. He is an expert in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and ESG communication. His industry expertise includes technology, health care, food&beverage, retail, energy, finance, infrastructure, transport and aviation.
Schillinger joined SOJC from ESG Core - ComLab, a group of Budapest, Hungary based international public relations and ESG consultancies where he was partner and managing director. Earlier he directed the marketing and sustainability activities of a major regional venture capital fund and led the the industry association of brewers in his home country. He co-founded and led his own consultancy successfully partnering with FTI Strategic Communications, one of the largest international strategic communications consultancies. Earlier he directed the Germany office of WE Communications, served as board director for London based Rowland Saatchi&Saatchi and August.One Communications. Prior to working in the UK, he was deputy CEO of Hill&Knowlton and managing director of The Rowland Company in Budapest.
Schillinger is a member of the Sustainability Council of the Budapest Business School (BGE) where he was appointed public relations adjunct faculty in 2010. He holds a law degree from ELTE Faculty of Law, Budapest, Hungary, a public relations master's degree from Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana and a conflict resolution master's degree specialized in climate change from the University of Oregon.
His research interests include corporate sustainability, ESG, climate change, renewables and humane technology. He frequently delivers lectures, keynotes and corporate workshops on ESG. He mentored women entrepreneurs within the international Academy for Women Entrepreneurship (AWE) program. and judged entries for Social Impact Awards hosted by Impact Hub. He was Chairman of the European Board of NESsT, a leading international impact investor in social enterprises. Schillinger is a founder of Greenterest, an initiative to bring climate scientists and volunteer communication professionals together to amplify the voice of climate science and facilitate climate action.