Susan Baldwin,
Vice President
Susan Baldwin joined The Hoffman Agency in 1990
and brings more than 19 years’ public relations experience to
her position as vice president. She has gained a wealth of industry
experience that spans a broad range of technologies, products and markets
from electronics to the enterprise to the Internet to the consumer.
With a focus on developing programs that deviate from the norm and emphasizing execution, she enjoys assisting clients tackle the communications challenges that exist in today’s unique market climate. During her 14-year tenure with the Agency, she has been able to share this passion with companies ranging from the Fortune 50 to venture-funded startups – creating award-winning programs and providing critical market differentiation. When Baldwin is not working with clients, she can be found driving the Agency’s professional development and training programs.
Prior to joining The Hoffman Agency, Baldwin served four years with Ketchum’s Silicon Valley technology arm, working with clients such as Adobe Systems, Harris Semiconductor and DuPont Design Technologies. She began her PR career with D-A-Y, Ogilvy Worldwide’s original West Coast PR firm, where she serviced a mix of consumer and high-technology accounts including General Foods, Pacific Bell, Fujitsu and PC’s Limited (now Dell Computer).
Baldwin graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in advertising.
Kristin
Bleier, Vice President
Kristin Bleier first joined The Hoffman Agency in the spring of 2001 and returned in October 2005. With more than 12 years of experience, Kristin has managed global PR programs for companies in the semiconductor, consumer electronics, enterprise software and storage industries.
Over the years, Kristin has spearheaded the PR programs for Fortune 500 companies and startups. During her first stint with The Hoffman Agency, Kristin managed the PR program for the software division of HP. Since her return to The Hoffman Agency, she has provided overall strategic counsel to a variety of accounts such as Plantronics, ILOG, Centillium Communications, Amazon Web Services and iPass.
Prior to re-joining The Hoffman Agency, Kristin worked at Eastwick Communications as an account director. While at Eastwick, she managed the company launches for Azul Systems and Level 5 Networks in addition to the PR program for Intellisync. Kristin started her PR career at Walt & Company Communications, where she cut her teeth on the Actel Corporation account.
Kristin received a bachelor’s degree in journalism with an option in public relations from California State University, Chico.
Lou Hoffman, President
Lou Hoffman launched The Hoffman Agency
in December 1987 after six years in journalism and public relations. Since
that time, he has transformed the Agency from a Silicon Valley company
into a global player. Today, he counsels clients in areas ranging from
corporate positioning to executive communication platforms to mergers
and acquisitions.
An accomplished speaker and writer on topics ranging from thought leadership to global PR, Hoffman has addressed audiences throughout the world. He’s authored a regular column in Technology Marketing, and has been featured and quoted frequently in other media including the Financial Times, CNN, BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal and various PR trade magazines.
Leon G.
Hunt, Chief Financial Officer
Leon Hunt leverages his more than 20 years of successful business and
financial experience in the development and management of global operations
for The Hoffman Agency. Hunt manages a global team of human resource,
IT, financial and general operations professionals. His primary focus
is the development and improvement of the Agency’s technology infrastructure
to enable broader communication, knowledge sharing and collaboration among
all of the company’s professionals and clients regardless of location.
Before joining Hoffman, Hunt spent 11 years building PR agencies as chief operating officer for Wilson McHenry Company and first financial professional for Cunningham Communication Inc. (now Citigate Cunningham). Hunt began his professional career working for KPMG, first in the audit department and then as manager of the firm’s local Private Business Advisory Services group. By virtue of his advisement of clients in this group, Hunt developed his passion for helping build technology and service businesses.
Hunt is a licensed CPA, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Santa Clara.
Marla Kertzman,
Vice President
Marla Kertzman has more than 20 years’
experience driving worldwide public relations for high-tech companies
in both corporate and agency environments. She has helped global clients
develop and implement effective strategies to achieve their communications
objectives.
Kertzman has spearheaded the communications efforts of startup, pre-IPO and Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining Hoffman, she served as a senior vice president at Weber Shandwick, successfully managing the company’s Agilent account team of more than 20 people across seven global offices. She has held positions at other Silicon Valley PR agencies, overseeing strategic and tactical program elements, focused on results and client satisfaction.
Previously, Marla held director roles at technology companies WatchGuard Technologies, frontpath and 3dfx, aggressively steering media outreach and investor relations while implementing policies to streamline and simplify communications processes. Marla has also held marketing communications and public relations positions at technology companies LSI Logic, International CMOS Technology and Western Microtechnology.
Shingo Nomura,
General Manager, Japan
Shingo Nomura oversees business development for The Hoffman Agency Japan
and provides strategic counsel to clients and account services teams.
Prior to joining Hoffman, Nomura established PRAP Japan’s IT practice
and grew the division’s business threefold. He was also responsible
for providing strategic counsel and developing communications strategies
for several key accounts such as SAS Institute, Network Associates and
Adobe Systems.
Nomura began his career at Weber Shandwick Worldwide, where he worked on high-tech and pharmaceutical accounts. He was part of the highly successful “Intel Inside” branding campaign in Japan, and was responsible for strengthening media relations with Intel’s target publications. Nomura also managed the Novo Nordisk Pharma account. He planned and executed numerous health and pharmaceutical public events, including an educational series on diabetes and regular dialogue sessions between the client and community residents.
Nomura holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Chuo University in Tokyo. He is fluent in Japanese and English.
John Radewagen,
Vice President
John Radewagen joined The Hoffman Agency in 1998 and leads the Corporate
Communications team, focusing on creative messaging, strategic positioning
and top-tier media relations. Radewagen’s team specializes in creating
and securing high-level print, broadcast, radio and Internet media opportunities
to give all Hoffman clients a strategic advantage in their markets. He
interacts directly with C-level executives to find their passions from
which interesting speaking platforms are created. Armed with that familiarity
and his unique storytelling style, he then packages and presents these
platforms to the media to increase awareness and position executives as
experts in the industry. Radewagen and his team also offer media training
sessions designed to teach executives how to effectively communicate and
deliver messages to various media outlets.
Radewagen’s Silicon Valley experience dates back to the early 1980s when he helped create and run the Entrepreneurs’ Alliance, an association founded by Nolan Bushnell of Atari fame, that helped aspiring entrepreneurs get their businesses started. He earned a bachelor’s degree in radio and television communications from the University of Illinois.
Judy Radlinsky, Vice President
Judy Radlinsky joined The Hoffman Agency
in September 2002 as a senior member of the management team. She assumed
the role of vice president, leveraging her extensive Fortune 100 communications
experience to enhance Hoffman’s corporate PR capabilities in the
areas of acquisition communications, executive speechwriting and partner
marketing.
Radlinsky came to Hoffman from HP, where she held the post of external communications director and was responsible for worldwide corporate public relations and executive speaking engagements for HP’s CEO. Most recently, she provided senior counsel and was a corporate spokesperson for HP during its successful merger proxy contest. Prior to joining HP, Radlinsky held corporate communications positions at IBM for 15 years and waspublic relations director for General Magic, Inc.
Radlinsky graduated summa cum laude from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a degree in journalism.
Susan Tomsett,
Managing Director, Asia Pacific
Susan Tomsett is a veteran of the Asia Pacific Communications Consulting
landscape with 18 years of in-market, hands-on experience, advising Fortune
500 and multi-national clients.
Tomsett specializes in supporting clients through a range of complex strategic communications issues ranging from market entry, brand and product acceptance, major international events, litigation and arbitration, operational crises as well as strategic communications supporting major bid projects both public and commercial.
Formerly chief operating officer of Burson Marsteller Greater China, Tomsett joined The Hoffman Agency in 2006. Her clients have included Cisco Systems, Qualcomm, Microsoft, Yahoo! Inc., Intel, Visa International, British American Tobacco, Philip Morris, British Petroleum, Intergen (Shell), Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, Glaxo Wellcome, Smith Klein Beecham PLC, J&J, Wal-Mart, Virgin Atlantic, Ansett, Alitalia and Qantas, Guangdong Bank and The City of Beijing, as well as a multitude of FMCG and luxury consumer brands.
In the field of crisis management she has supported clients on a range of issues, including health and safety resulting in loss of life, highly politicized issues of pharmaceuticals and product dumping, government and local partner unfair regulation and protection issues, direct impact to the SARS crisis and responses to WTO introduction.
Tomsett was lead counsel and communications director for the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games directing all international media communications and outreach as well as lead crisis counselor working directly with BOGOC and the Office of the Mayor.
A sought-after commentator and speaker, she has appeared on international and national broadcast media and has contributed to several published articles and opinion editorials and was a columnist of the China Economic Quarterly and several local language periodicals.
Tay Kuan Yan, General Manager, Singapore
A former diplomat and current general manager
for The Hoffman Agency’s Singapore operations, Tay Kuan Yan has
had a long and distinguished career in both banking and technology. Kuan
Yan was public affairs manager, first for DBS Bank and then for HSBC,
before moving into the electronics and information technology industry
as regional manager of communications for THOMSON Multimedia Asia. He
has also served as regional manager for market development and corporate
programmes at Digital Equipment Asia Pacific.
Most recently, Kuan Yan served as managing director of AideA Publicists Pte Ltd, a PR and marketing communications consultancy, specializing in supporting the information technology sector. Kuan Yan worked with key accounts, including Accenture, Datacraft, HP, IBM, IDA, and Microsoft.
Kuan Yan earned a degree in law and politics while studying in the UK and trained as a barrister at the Lincoln’s Inns of Court in London. He is legal advisor to the Institute of Public Relations, Singapore and has been an expert member of several government-led steering committees on youth, design and trade development.