Current Position
Vice Chairman, H+K Strategies
History
Tom served as President and CEO of Hill and Knowlton/USA from 1996 through 2001. He led the US firm during an era of unprecedented growth, both through the development of its internal resources and through acquisitions. His responsibilities included managing the firm’s 13 US offices; leading its acquisition strategy; developing client strategies; overseeing the firm’s profit-and-loss centers; and redefining the US Company’s corporate culture.
Before he became President and CEO of the US Company, Tom served as Chairman of its Public Affairs practice and as General Manager of its New York and Washington offices. Prior to joining Hill and Knowlton, he founded and served as President of Hoog and Associates, Inc., a Colorado-based governmental affairs firm with offices in Washington, D.C. and Orange County, California.
Tom served on the executive committee and national finance committee for then-Governor Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.He served for five years as Chief of Staff for US Senator Gary Hart of Colorado. Before his Capitol Hill experience, his involvement in national politics had begun with his work for the presidential campaigns of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Senator George McGovern.
Also, Tom spent six years as a naval aviator with the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet.
Other Information
Tom served at the pleasure of President Clinton on the Advisory Board of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum. He also served as Chairman of the Wolf Trap Foundation from 2000 to 2002. The Wolf Trap Foundation operates the National Park for the Performing Arts in public/private partnership with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service.
He currently serves on the board of advisors of the Vietnam War Memorial. Tom was a founding member of the Glocal Forum Board, an NGO devoted to cooperation among global mayors. He serves on several corporate boards of directors and frequently delivers speeches and leads seminars at universities around the nation. Tom was Chairman of the Counselors Academy of the Public Relations Society of America in 2002 and 2003.
Tom was selected by PR Week magazine as one of the 100 most influential public relations practitioners of the 20th century and in 2003 was awarded the John W Hill Award for Excellence in the public relations profession by the NY Chapter of PRSA.
In 2004, he was honored by the Colorado Chapter of PRSA with their Swede Johnson Lifetime Achievement Award, and in October 2004, Tom was chosen by PRSA as the winner of the Gold Anvil Award, their highest individual honor. The Gold Anvil acknowledges Tom’s professionalism and significant contributions to the public relations field.
More from Tom Hoog:
- Plank Mentor Speech
- Plank Mentor Q&A Series
- Legacies from Legends in Public Relations
- Infographic: 10 Things to Know About Working in Public Affairs