Co-Founder, Co-Chief Executive Officer & Director, B Riley Financial
Search every verified Thomas Kelleher interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In 2016, Kelleher discussed his entry into public relations, recalling that he secured an internship after meeting a vice president of marketing while bartending at a holiday party. He said he was surprised to find that professionals in the field "really love their work" and described the job as involving strategy, writing, and intellectual effort. Kelleher added that he continues to find communications exciting because it allows him to promote things he likes and use his writing and strategic skills. In 2019, Kelleher, as chair of the advertising department at the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications, asked alumni and friends to donate to the program. He stated that donations of any size help bring industry professionals to review student portfolios and that the percentage of alumni who give is a key metric for the department's success.
“I actually got the internship because I met a vice president of marketing while bartending at one of his holiday parties.”
“My roommate said now you probably be hosting cocktail parties and stuff like that.”
“When I got to the job I was really surprised at how much people really love their work in public relations; they love strategy, they loved the writing and it was a lot of intellectual work.”
“To this day I still get really excited about communications because it's fun: you can promote things that you like, you can communicate with people, you can put those writing skills to work, you can do strategy — it's really a job that I think the graduates are going to love.”
Please join Advertising Department Chair Tom Kelleher and Stand Up and Holler for CJC on Feb. 26. Every donation, big or small ...
Tom Kelleher, author of Public Relations in the Digital Age, describes his first work experience in Public Relations and why ...
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