Aaron Sherinian serves as Senior Vice President for Global Reach at the Deseret Management Corporation, which operates commercial businesses owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His role is to help extend the organization’s worldwide profile and deepen engagement with commercial media and civil society organizations around the globe. Aaron also supports the work of the Radiant Foundation, an organization dedicated to cultivating a more personal, positive place for faith within modern society. In this role, he directs projects to help create bridges of understanding between the media and entertainment industries, faith communities and people who champion the role of religion in today’s world.
From 2018 to 2021, Aaron served as the Vice President for Global Communications Transformation at Philip Morris International, where he helped manage the company’s historic shift toward a smoke-free future. A self-proclaimed “never-smoker,” Aaron collaborated with leaders inside the company and throughout civil society to help keep the company moving toward a future without cigarettes.
Aaron served as Global Communications Director for the Aga Khan Development Network, reporting to His Highness the Aga Khan. During his tenure at the highly respected global NGO, he oversaw all elements of corporate communications for the Diamond Jubilee of the Aga Khan and supported communications efforts aligned with this global faith community’s humanitarian and commercial programs and millions of adherents throughout the globe. His service with His Highness the Aga Khan and the Ismaili community was headquartered in Paris, France and coincided with the move of the global seat of this faith community to Lisbon, Portugal.
Aaron’s career included more than a decade as Chief Communications and Marketing Officer for the United Nations Foundation. Under his direction, the communications team won multiple awards including “PR Team of the Year” from PR News. He was responsible for a team of communicators and the development of public relations campaigns and initiatives. One of his favorite projects was the launch of the Giving Tuesday movement that has helped catalyze billions of dollars in philanthropic giving worldwide.
Prior to the UN Foundation, Aaron served as the Managing Director of Public Affairs for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S. Government development assistance agency, where he worked within both Republican and Democratic administration leadership to administer $7 billion in poverty reduction grants in 40 partner countries. His professional background also includes a decade of diplomatic service as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State. His family lived in Ecuador, Armenia, Costa Rica and Washington, D.C. as part of these State Department assignments. One of Aaron’s favorite assignments was his time at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See (Vatican) in Rome, Italy.
Aaron holds degrees from the Johns Hopkins University (School of Advanced International Studies – SAIS) and Brigham Young University. He speaks Italian, Spanish, Armenian, and French. He served as a volunteer missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Milan, Italy and has joined his family in serving within his local faith congregations in various countries around the world.
He and his wife Emily have lived around the world but have happily returned to where they first met—Washington, D.C.—where their family has grown to include four children and a dog. Aaron blogs on occasion about life as a husband and dad and communications professional in the 21st-century at www.globalextrovert.com.
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