Thomas L. Harrison
Keynote Speaking available for:Thomas L. Harrison

Thomas L. Harrison is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Diversified Agency Services (DAS), the world’s largest holding group of marketing services companies. A division of the Omnicom Group, DAS provides a broad range of marketing communications services including public relations, crisis management, branding, sales promotion, customer relationship management and specialty communications such as healthcare advertising for some of the largest global brands. With over 5,000 worldwide clients, the DAS division has annual revenues of almost $5.0 billion and is the largest unit within Omnicom, itself the world’s largest advertising holding company.

Under Harrison’s watch the DAS division has more than quadrupled in size and now accounts for almost 60% of the total revenues of Omnicom. He has acquired and heads a list of companies that are the most influential in their areas, particularly in public relations, relationship marketing, branding and healthcare communications. He has developed not only the largest group of specialized agencies but the most diverse as well.

Harrison’s multi-faceted career brought him to Omnicom in 1992 when the firm he co-founded, Harrison & Star Business Group, the most successful and rapidly growing agency in the healthcare industry at the time, was acquired. Harrison served as Chairman of the Harrison & Star Group and Chairman of Diversified Healthcare Communications, a group of eight healthcare agencies within Omnicom, until his appointment as President of DAS in 1997. He was named Chairman and Chief Executive of DAS in 1998.

With an advanced degree in cell biology and physiology, Harrison began his business career at Pfizer Laboratories as a sales representative and left Pfizer as marketing director. He then joined a mid-sized healthcare advertising agency for six years before starting his own company, The Harrison & Star Business Group. While at the helm he started a healthcare advertising agency, a medical education company, a direct-to-consumer healthcare company and a medical PR group as well as acquiring a managed care consultancy.

Harrison serves on a number of prestigious boards. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Montefiore Hospital and is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. He serves as a board member of the New York Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. Harrison is a board member for ePocrates, a healthcare information company, The Morgans Hotel Group and several marketing services companies. He was President of a local Westchester County School Board and Chairman and Founder of the not-for-profit education foundation in that Westchester School District. He is a member of the President’s council at Tulane University School of Medicine. He has served as co-chairman of the New York Chapter of the U.S. Olympic Committee and raised substantial funding to support U.S. Olympic Athletes. He has been honored by Long Island College Hospital, The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and by The Lymphoma Foundation. He is a frequent speaker at business forums and at universities on the subject of entrepreneurialism, business strategies and the "Secrets to Success". Harrison has spoken at West Virginia University where he did his graduate research and where he was recognized with the 2006 Distinguished Alumni Award. Harrison is being bestowed with an Honorary PhD from West Virginia University, the highest honor an American University grants to an individual. He is being honored by Mount St. Vincent’s College, where he has also been a keynote speaker. He is being honored by New York’s Health and Hospital Services in the spring of 2007. He was keynote speaker at The McGraw-Hill Medical Publishers Annual Awards program and at a recent Management Conference of Healthcare Communications specialists, and talked to agency CEOs at an advertising industry forum about the future of advertising agencies, marketing services and ideation.

Harrison is the author of the book Instinct: Tapping Your Entrepreneurial DNA to Achieve Your Business Goals, published by Warner Business Books. Harrison has appeared on CNBC, CNNI, Bloomberg and Forbes.com discussing the book. He can be found on the Enterprise Leadership podcast as well as other podcasts. Harrison also lectures at business schools and schools of entrepreneurialism on topics discussed in Instinct.

Harrison is a member of the New York University Campaign Steering Committee, is Chairman of the Dean’s Council at The Steinhardt School of Education at NYU and is a Trustee at The Kent School, a New England preparatory school.

Keynote Speaking

Success need not be limited to “the chosen.” Anyone can achieve success…their success. By understanding the 5 personality traits that underpin the developmental behavior of each individual, you will begin to understand why you are where you are in your professional life’s journey. No one has ever been born with a perfect set of genes; yet we can become more successful by learning the Success Promoters that can effectively counterbalance what we each have inherited in the genetic lottery. You will see firsthand that there is no one-size-fits-all prescription for success, but that there is a personalized success approach for each of us. You will learn how to easily paint yourself into a picture that provides an authentic, step-wise approach to your success.

Key Takeaways from Mr. Harrison's Keynotes:
1) Ignite the spirit of entrepreneurship in your business.
2)Assess yourself and leverage your individual strengths — so you can begin taking advantage of the “success high.”
3) Think like an entrepreneur to “paint a picture” of you in your career and then make it a reality.
4) Change the way you think about success, careers, and your own level of job satisfaction.

Tom Harrison interviewed by David van Toor - AS

Tom Harrison, Chairman and CEO of Diversified Agency Services at Omnicom, sits down with David van Toor to discuss how he grew DAS into a multibillion division of Omnicom and how Harrison has selected such quality acquisitions during his tenure.

Tom Harrison interviewed by David van Toor - AS - FI

Tom Harrison, Chairman and CEO of Diversified Agency Services at Omnicom, sits down with David van Toor to discuss how he grew DAS into a multibillion division of Omnicom and how Harrison has selected such quality acquisitions during his tenure.

“The mark of a successful businessman is the ability to innovate and adapt. Tom Harrison shows you how to unlock the abilities you already possess, and how to obtain the ones you don't”

Earvin "Magic" Johnson, CEO

Johnson Development Corporation

“Could there possibly be any ways left to parse 'success'? My loud and clear answer, after reading Tom Harrison's INSTINCT, is a resounding 'Yes.' This is a thoroughly original, engaging, scientific, and counterintuitive take on success and entrepreneurial behavior. I have but one bone to pick: I dearly wish this book had been available to me twenty years ago!”

Tom Peters , Author

In Search of Excellence and Re-Imagine!

“Tom Harrison has finally answered the ultimate question: Are entrepreneurs born or made? His blending of scientific research and business acumen in INSTINCT is an absolutely fascinating read.”

Michael Treacy, Author

Double-Digit Growth & The Discipline of Market Leaders

Instinct: Tapping Your Entrepreneurial DNA to Achieve Your Business Goals
Thomas L. Harrison

The first book to combine business management and scientific studies shows how the personality traits of successful entrepreneurs may be inheritedand what you can do to make the jump from employee to entrepreneur. What exactly does it mean to be a born leader? Are some people naturally endowed with characteristics that lead to success? Could success be the result of something in our DNA? INSTINCT explores the radical new concept that business success is based on cell biology, evolution, and genetics. Thomas L. Harrison shows readers how to determine if they have inherited these genesand how to compensate if they are lacking some of these vital traits. An important and groundbreaking book, INSTINCT is sure to revolutionize the business and science worlds for years to come.