Tom is one of Asia's most respected advertising professionals and also a leading expert in Chinese consumer psychology. He is the Northeast Asia Director and Great China CEO for J. Walter Thompson.

Born and bred in America’s Detroit and educated in Chicago, he took a detour to Hong Kong in 1994 and never quite made it back to the States. His unique combination of pan-Asian work, plus more than a decade based in China, has made him a leading expert in the cross-border management of brand architecture and brand building. 

He has appeared regularly on CNBC, NBC’s The Today Show, Bloomberg and National Public Radio and is frequently featured in publications ranging from the Financial Times and Business Week to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Furthermore, he is a sought after keynote speaker for events such as the International Advertising Association’s global symposium, University of Chicago’s Global Management Conference, the China Luxury Summit and the JPMorgan Asia Pacific Equities conference. 

His new book “What Chinese Want: Culture, Communism and China’s Modern Consumer” sets the record straight about the worldview, consumer desires and values of people who are rapidly modernizing but not becoming more like the US.