BRADFORD, Pa. — Marketing executive, entrepreneur, and Bradford native Thomas Cole will receive this year's Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Pittsburgh at the Bradford Alumni Association.
The award will be presented at Commencement Ceremony on April 28 by Pitt-Bradford President Rick Esch and PBAA President Sarah Loriya.
“Throughout his distinguished career, Tom has demonstrated outstanding leadership, innovation, and a commitment to excellence, making a tremendous impact in his profession, his community, and beyond,” said Mr. Esch.
Cole's career in marketing, management and brand building spans more than 40 years, including strategic leadership roles in several established global organizations and the agencies he founded.
Cole is chairman and CEO of Tandem Theory, the Dallas-based marketing company he founded. Tandem Theory's customers include several national and international brands, including Baskin Robbins, Purina, Benihana, and Ruby Tuesday.
Cole's career in marketing began at his father's car dealership, Casey Cole Chevrolet, in his hometown of Bradford. From the age of 13 until his first two years at Pitt-Bradford College, Cole worked at a dealership introduced to him by his father. He was involved in various aspects of the business, and when young Cole was ready, he gave him additional responsibilities.
While a student at Pitt-Bradford College, Cole was promoted to assistant sales manager.
Cole said his experience at his father's dealership and his exposure to all aspects of business shaped and motivated him as he entered the business world himself.
“During that time, I never stopped studying my father,” Cole said. “He is known for working hard, being responsible for many people, managing cash flow to pay the bills, motivating salespeople, dealing with employee issues, and managing his personal life.'' It taught me what it means to have balance.”
Cole graduated from Pittsburgh in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and economics. She earned a master's degree in business administration from Pitt in 1987 and then accepted a position as regional marketing manager for PepsiCo's Pizza Hut division. During his time at PepsiCo, he held several leadership roles, ultimately serving as vice president of marketing.
After leaving PepsiCo, Cole spent three years as a partner, executive vice president and president at Forbes Group in Dallas. He served as executive vice president and then president of Havas Advertising Inc. in Chicago and Dallas, respectively. He was appointed executive vice president and director of global business for J. Walter Thompson USA Inc. in Detroit.
After nearly 30 years in the corporate world, she decided to strike out on her own in 2005 and founded Razor Competitive Edge, a retail marketing agency specializing in brand building, marketing strategy, and communications, serving multiple global clients. provided. , Domino's Pizza, Rental Center, Dunkin' Donuts, and more.
In 2006, just one year after its founding, Razor was ranked #1 on the 2006 Advertising Age Agency Report Card's Fastest Growing Agencies list and #9 on Entrepreneurship Magazine's “Hot 100” list of America's Fastest Growing Companies. It was ranked number one. , was named No. 1 on the 2006 Cox Carruth Institute Dallas 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies list.
In addition to his bachelor's and master's degrees from Pitt, Cole holds an executive MBA from Harvard Business School.
Cole and his wife Rose live in Dallas. He is the father of his three children.
Cole joins a short list of previous PBAA Alumni Award of Excellence recipients. Recent recipients include Dr. Larry Schade, Rhett Kennedy, and Chris Napoleon.
