Sean Dowdall is a 30-year public relations, marketing and sales executive specializing in the innovation, creation, and successful delivery to market of strategic initiatives, ongoing capabilities, and fully-integrated campaigns. As President and CEO of Landis Communications, he oversees the award-winning agency while providing strategic counsel to clients, managing the marketing and digital practice areas, and supervising financial management.
In 2025, Sean was named a Business of Pride Honoree by the San Francisco Business Times, recognizing LGBTQ+ business leaders who are making a significant difference in their communities and companies. This prestigious recognition highlights his leadership in both the LGBTQ+ business community and the broader San Francisco Bay Area, reinforcing Landis’ 35-year commitment to purpose-driven communications and community impact.
Under Sean’s leadership, Landis has achieved remarkable success and industry recognition. The agency was named to the PRNEWS Agency Elite Top 120 for the fifth consecutive year and ranks among O’Dwyer’s top PR firms for 2024. Landis also won PR Daily’s national award for Best Nonprofit Campaign and received the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) San Francisco chapter’s coveted “Standout Tactic of the Year” award for its innovative General Sherman campaign for Save the Redwoods League.
The son of a banker, Sean started his banking career at his father’s local bank on the Flathead Indian Reservation in his hometown of Polson, Montana, where he developed an early appreciation for community service and environmental stewardship. Before joining Landis, he served as Chief Marketing Officer for Rabobank, N.A., where he championed sustainable agriculture financing and community involvement initiatives. His banking background also includes leadership roles at Wells Fargo Bank and Bank of America, where he developed expertise in strategic communications and digital marketing.
Sean is deeply passionate about environmental causes and LGBTQ+ advocacy, values that are central to both his personal mission and Landis’ client work. His commitment to environmental protection is evident in the agency’s award-winning campaigns, including the celebrated General Sherman campaign for Save the Redwoods League. As an LGBTQ+ leader, Sean has consistently used his platform to amplify voices that matter and create meaningful change in the community, reflecting his belief that business should be a force for social good.
At Landis, he currently works with clients in the healthcare, environmental, technology and nonprofit arenas. Under his leadership, the agency has recently welcomed six new clients: Align Surgical Associates, National Rainbow College Fund, Mechanics’ Institute, Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, Mother’s Milk Bank, and Western Rivers Conservancy.
Sean graduated from Santa Clara University (BS in Finance) and the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA). He also studied in Tokyo, Japan during his junior year of college. He served as President of the Board of ODC San Francisco for 5 years during two $10 million capital campaigns to expand the ODC campus supporting more than 200 dance classes every week and an active 200-seat performing arts theatre.
Sean is married to David Landis, founder of Landis Communications, who is currently writing for San Francisco Bay Times as the Gay Gourmet.