Co-Founding Partner
Tony is nationally known as a leader in marketing and reputation management. He co-founded in 2003 Harbor Group Communications, Inc., the New York City-based national reputation management, marketing and public relations advisory company.
For over 30 years, significant parts of Tony’s practice have been focused in two key areas: creating compelling positions, brands and messages for enterprises that distinguish them competitively in the marketplace; and handling the most sensitive client crises that go to the heart of preserving the trust and quality reputations of institutions, corporations, brands and management that are under fire. Tony has deep experience in helping clients of all sizes to diagnose, often anticipate, and optimally respond to the critical attacks on their reputation assets and helping them design and execute communications, initiatives and activities that assure positive public perceptions are maintained through the crisis, and that reputations are rapidly rebuilt and repaired afterward.
Previously, Tony was a member of the leadership team of Saatchi & Saatchi Public Relations Worldwide for twelve years, with lead management responsibilities in three areas. He was President of Rowland Consulting, the marketing and communications strategy consulting arm; Chief Strategy Officer of the firm; and President of the Corporate Reputation Practice working in the areas of corporate image and issues, positioning and branding, business-to-business and corporate social responsibility programming.
Earlier, Tony served for more than thirteen years at Ogilvy & Mather Public Relations (and its predecessor agency) as Executive Vice President and Sector Head, directing that firm’s Corporate Affairs Practice. Prior to joining O&MPR, Tony served for three years as public affairs counsel in the Washington D.C. office of Burson-Marsteller, where he conducted government relations, lobbying and issues communications programs for clients.
His clients have included leading corporate and industry association names – – including Canon U.S.A, DuPont, Merrill Lynch, Tishman Construction Company, Duracell, Freeport-McMoRan, Waste Management Inc., Air Products & Chemical Corp., Nestle U.S.A., Ford Motor Company, The Principal Financial Group, Shell Oil, Southern California Edison Company, Brooklyn Law School, as well as the American Waterways Operators, American Management Association, International Association For Financial Planning, Aluminum Association, Western Energy Supply & Transmission Associates (20 electric power companies in the West), and the North American 100% Recycled Paperboard Alliance.
His corporate PR programs have won national recognition in the areas of corporate image, crisis communications, business-to-business communications, corporate social responsibility and environmental citizenship.
Tony received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law. He holds an A.B. from Franklin and Marshall College and also studied at the City of London College, England. Tony was raised in Washington D.C. and attended the Landon Preparatory School for Boys.
He is married to his law school roommate’s sister, and they live in South Salem. N.Y. and Naples, FL. He has two terrific sons – – one the special education teacher for grades 1-3 at a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon school in Los Angeles, and the other is a writer-reporter in New York City covering sports, entertainment and pop culture for a national website. With his sons, he is a long suffering Washington Redskins fan.
Tony is a trustee of The Jacob Epstein Foundation, a philanthropic fund located in Baltimore, Maryland and is a member of the advisory boards of directors of a number of start-up companies.