Feb 18, 2020
About the guest:
Michael Bourque became The MEMIC Group’s second president and CEO in the company’s history in September 2017.
Mike previously served under founding president John Leonard for more than two decades, culminating that time as senior vice president for external affairs and corporate secretary for The MEMIC Group. In that role, Mike led the company’s corporate marketing programs, including its advertising and public relations, and outbound communications, as well as its government and community relations efforts.
Mike is a graduate of the University of Maine with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is Accredited in Public Relations (APR) by the Public Relations Society of America and is an accredited Workers’ Compensation Professional (WCP®) as recognized by AMCOMP. In 2004, he was named winner of the Edward L. Bernays Award, the top honor from the Maine Public Relations Council for career achievement in public relations.
Before joining MEMIC, Mike was an editor for a trade association based in Washington, DC. Previously, he was an award-winning journalist, working for daily newspapers in Maine and Alaska.
In the episode:
2:21 – Michael shares how he wanted to be a newspaper reporter like his uncle, working at several daily newspapers, including a newspaper in Alaska.
7:05 – Nancy mentions competing against Michael at the Portland Press Herald spelling bee. Listen to Lisa DeSisto’s episode to learn more about Masthead Maine.
10:33 – As part of the onboarding process, a piece of advice new MEMIC employees are given is to be curious; Michael tells how he takes this one step further by always asking questions.
12:03 – Michaels shares a story of learning to have conversations when he was delivering newspapers at the age of nine.
15:41 – Michael talks about how MEMIC measures success based on audiences.
19:30 – Nancy and Michael talk about the Maine brand and how people can see what Maine is all about when they visit without any media stereotypes.
20:25 – Michael and Nancy give their thoughts on the new Northeastern University technology campus.
23:24 – Michael talks about MEMIC’s Safety Experts podcast.
28:52 – Nancy answers a listener line question.
31:39 – Michael shares how he has built his network through social media.
38:07 – In general, Michael suggests an openness to explore and find new resources
40:16 – Michael focuses on the importance of developing skills that can be used throughout your career.
Quote:
“All of us have the license to ask questions. The benefit that you gain from asking is that one, you learn something but the secondary part that's incredibly underrated is that you honor the other person by assuming that they know something of value to you.” – Michael Bourque, President and CEO of The MEMIC Group
Links:
MEMIC: www.memic.com
Safety Experts Podcast: www.memic.com/workplace-safety/safety-experts-podcast
Maine Public Relations Council: https://meprcouncil.org
Almost, Maine: www.portlandstage.org/show/john-carianis-almost-maine-featuring-john-cariani
New York Times article about Northeaster University Technology Campus: www.nytimes.com/2020/01/27/business/economy/portland-maine-economy.html
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Looking to connect:
Email: mbourque@memic.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michaelbourque
Twitter: @MikeBourque
Facebook: www.facebook.com/michael.p.bourque