# Diane Schwartz

> Diane Schwartz is the New York-based CEO of Ragan Communications, a professional development and media business serving communicators. A former journalist and longtime Access Intelligence publishing executive, she took over Ragan in May 2019 as its first female CEO. Her work combines training, events, peer communities and advocacy for communicators as business leaders; Ragan appeared on the Inc. 5000 in 2025 and 2026.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at Ragan Communications
- **Organizations:** Ragan Communications, Access Intelligence, PR News, Institute for Public Relations, Renewd, Communications Week
- **Education:** Journalism degree, American University, Organizational Leadership certification, Harvard Business School, Advanced Leadership program certification, Northwestern University
- **Known for:** First female CEO of Ragan Communications., Established PR News programs including the Measurement Conference and Hall of Fame, Platinum PR Awards, Crisis Management Summit and Media Relations Conference., Ragan ranked No. 2,828 on the 2025 Inc. 5000 with 147% three-year revenue growth.

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Worked as a technical editor at EDS, then reported for small East Coast newspapers, including a daily newspaper in Virginia.
- **1996** — Joined PBI Media, subsequently known as Access Intelligence.
- **1996–2019** — Spent 23 years at Access Intelligence; became senior vice president and group publisher of the Media & Communications Division.
- **2019** — Became Ragan Communications CEO effective May 13, succeeding Mark Ragan in the role.
- **2025** — Ragan launched the Center for AI Strategy and appeared on the Inc. 5000 at No. 2,828.
- **2025** — Won a Silver Stevie Award for Maverick of the Year.
- **2026** — Ragan appeared on the Inc. 5000 for a second year, at No. 2,800; Schwartz was recognized as a PRSA Women of Impact honoree.

## Achievements

- First female CEO of Ragan Communications.
- Established PR News programs including the Measurement Conference and Hall of Fame, Platinum PR Awards, Crisis Management Summit and Media Relations Conference.
- Ragan ranked No. 2,828 on the 2025 Inc. 5000 with 147% three-year revenue growth.
- Ragan ranked No. 2,800 on the 2026 Inc. 5000 with 113% three-year growth.
- Silver Stevie Award for Maverick of the Year in 2025.
- PRSA inaugural Women of Impact recognition for Innovative Use of AI & Communications Technology in 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Published Why Tomorrow’s CEOs May Come From Public Relations in PRSA’s August issue.
- **2026-07** — Published What’s in my leadership stack on July 28, outlining seven leadership capabilities.
- **2026-05** — Appeared on Secrets of Powerful Women with Jill Conway, discussing her journalist-to-CEO career.
- **2025-11** — Ragan announced her Silver Stevie Award for Maverick of the Year on November 12.

## Links

- Website: https://www.ragan.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianeschwartz
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/dianeschwartz

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/diane-schwartz
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-06