Malcolm Ehrhardt

MALCOLM P. EHRHARDT III (1947-2022)

Founder, The Ehrhardt Group

Malcolm P. Ehrhardt dedicated his professional career to the study of mass communication and its effect on people and business. In 1996, he founded The Ehrhardt Group with his beloved wife, Pia. Together for next 25 years, he worked to build one of the top 150 public relations firms in the United States alongside with eldest son Marc. 

He spent his career providing tactful, insightful counsel to community leaders, governors, heads of corporations, and people who strove to make New Orleans and the region better. Among the major events on which he worked were the 1987 visit of Pope John Paul II, the 1988 Republican National Convention, two Super Bowls, three NCAA Final Four tournaments and the 2000 opening of the National D-Day Museum, now known as the National WWII Museum. 

A lifelong New Orleanian who graduated from De La Salle High School and the University of New Orleans, Malcolm earned a Master’s in communications management from Syracuse University. He completed a Harvard Law School seminar entitled “Dealing with an Angry Public”, authored numerous articles, and served as a speaker for seminars and workshops.

Malcolm served as an infantryman in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and was later commissioned as an artillery officer in the famed Washington Artillery housed in Jackson Barracks in New Orleans. He was awarded a Bronze Star Medal and Combat Infantry Badge. 

In addition to The Ehrhardt Group, Malcolm was an adjunct professor at LSU’s Manship School of Communication and served as a mentor to young colleagues and people entering the profession.

Malcolm believed in the role of the news media in delivering accurate information to the community. He also believed that we offered clients and partners our ideas and time, both intensely personal and incredibly valuable. His renowned legacy as one of the greatest communicators, advisors and mentors of New Orleans will blaze the trail for many generations to come.