What can PR professionals learn from the life experiences of Thomas R. Martin? No flippancy intended, but where can we start? As one of the most influential and successful PR
practitioners of our time, Martin has redefined the value of corporate communications through a depth of imagination and an indefatigable spirit - and his results literally span
the world.
With the announcement of his retirement at the end of the year from ITT Corporation, where he holds the title of senior vice president of corporate relations (a position
voted for him by the board of directors), Martin concludes a career noted for back-to-back extended runs: His 10-year involvement at ITT, which was preceded by an 18-year career
at Fedex (he joined it in 1978 when it was still Federal Express and was handling less than 40,000 packages per day).
Concurrent to that work, Martin also provided active involvement in the Arthur W. Page Society (where he was president from 2004-2005) and served as a trustee at the
Institute of Public Relations and as a member of the Board of Advisors for PR News.
So why is Martin bowing out now? "I've been at this for 30 years," he says. "For more than a year, I've increasingly enjoyed sharing my life experiences with students in a
variety of settings. That's where I want to spend the next chapter of my career."
Indeed, Martin has been peripatetic on the college and university circuit: He's vice-chair of the Advisory Council of the Department of Communications for the College of
Charleston (SC) and he's been a guest lecturer at Columbia University, Boston University and Syracuse University. Martin urges PR practitioners to seriously
consider sharing their observations and skills with tomorrow's leaders.
"There exists a very large gap over what is being taught and what is needed in the marketplace," he says. "The more that practitioners can share their knowledge, the more
prepared students can be in the future. We need to do everything we can do to bridge that knowledge gap."
Martin is coming off an extensive 18-month project that resulted in the global rebranding of the company.
"We needed a single, unified brand for all of our businesses," he says Martin, adding the rebranding included a new logo, a new theme line ("Everything for Life") and a new
name (the company was formerly ITT Industries Inc.). "The word 'industries' had a smokestack-like old-fashioned feel to it."
Uniting China
Within his ITT years, Martin points to two achievements which redefined the influence of corporate communications: His role in putting together the business case that led to
the 2002 creation of the position of president for a unified ITT China (the company previously had multiple units with their respective leaders operating in that country)
and his role in creating the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, an international competition for high school students creating water-related science projects. The value of that honor
literally stretches to royal plateaus: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden presents these annual honors, which ITT has sponsored over the past decade.
"It is a good fit from a business standpoint," says Martin, noting that 40% of ITT's operation included water-related technologies and solutions. "And it is also a good fit
from a corporate social responsibility standpoint."
PR Today
As for the state of today's PR industry, Martin finds areas worthy of pride and corners in need of improvement.
"PR is positioned very well in helping the many businesses and organizations it serves," he says. "We're very good at connecting our companies and organizations with their
shareholders. However, there are also challenges regarding our own credibility and transparency. There have been some events in the past year to 18 months that have hurt us, and
we need to address that so it doesn't happen again."
Contact: Thomas R. Martin, 914.641.2157.