After 23 years at Trahan, Burden & Charles, a Baltimore advertising and public relations firm, Sandy Hillman, TBC?s CEO and head of its public relations operations, left to start her own company, Sandy Hillman Communications.
Hillman left TBC on a Friday and started work with her own company the next Monday, as several of her clients and about 10 TBC staff members joined the new PR firm.
Hillman spoke to The Examiner about her career move:
Did you know a majority of your staff from TBC would leave and join your firm?
I didn?t know it would happen. When I was leaving, I wasn?t allowed to solicit their employment, so I?m just humbled by it, and I have to say it was an act of faith on their part. It speaks to the relationships we?ve built for them to come with me.
How will your work responsibilities change with leaving TBC and starting your own firm?
The big difference is I was responsible for a lot of different issues. Now I?ll just be working on public relations and client services. The thing I?m best at is strategic communications, and I?m excited I?ll get to do it.
Do you feel you?re a role model to women in public relations and advertising?
The people most excited about all of this are all women. I?ve gotten a lot of “You go, sister” calls. Women today are in a more enviable working position than when I was a young woman. I love mentoring young women and feel a special responsibility to provide an environment that allows women to succeed in various roles.
Are you nervous at all about leaving TBC after so many years?
It?s not really nerve-racking. It?s more exciting, but it?s also very emotional when you leave a place you?ve been for so long.
