After 27 years of guiding publicity efforts at Carl Terzian Associates, Tom Tomlin is moving to Century City and forming his own public relations firm Tom Tomlin Associates.
The agency will provide full-service public relations to clients in the areas of real estate and professional services.
Tomlin is taking some of Terzian’s real estate clients with him including The Arba Group, New Urban West Inc. and Miller Brothers Development.
“It was time to create an agency of my own,” Tomlin said. “I have forged great friendships and relationships through the years with my clients.”
He said he finally reversed roles and became a listener, studying the advice of his clients who urged him to strike out on his own.
“Going out on my own is just very exciting,” he said. “I’ve only worked for one or two bosses in my life, so this is a big departure.”
After graduating from Pepperdine University with a degree in political science, Tomlin went to work as assistant campaign manager for Ronald Reagan during his successful campaign for California governor. He stayed in Republican state politics for the next three years.
“There’s no better high than a win at the election polls and no greater low than the day after a campaign ends,” he said.
But three years was enough, he said. “Working in politics for three years is like working at another job for 25 years,” he added. “Political work set the tone for the rest of my career as I’m a win-lose kind of guy.”
Using that experience, Tomlin said he set goals with each of the 500 clients that he worked with at Terzian. He called the work at Terzian challenging, especially when called in to handle crisis communications.
“I’ve had some real tragedies to deal with, such as accidents on sites and other problems including national product recalls that were tough,” he said. “But you just go in, grasp control of the situation and turn things around.”
When he’s not following politics or golfing, Tomlin likes to read. “I’m a big fan of business books and am always trying to learn more,” he said.
Julie Sable
