President & CEO
Lynette Lo Tom, one of Hawaii’s most experienced and knowledgeable communications professionals, has delivered results for hundreds of businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations since founding her communications firm in 1990. While growing her one-person public relations consultancy into the thriving, full-service marketing agency that it is today, Tom learned that focusing on the success of her clients was the secret of success in her own company. More than 90 percent of Bright Light Marketing’s new clients come from business referrals, a testament to the firm’s reputation for client service.
An unquenchable thirst to learn about new things and a desire to effectively communicate complex issues made Tom a top Hawaii broadcast news reporter, television anchor, and editor in the early 1980’s. She was then named the public information manager and company spokesperson for GTE Hawaiian Tel (now Hawaiian Telcom) prior to launching her company. Today, that same inquisitive drive and determination propels Tom and the Bright Light Marketing team to provide effective marketing solutions for each client’s unique needs.
Tom holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of California at Berkeley and graduated with honors in journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She was selected to serve as Vice Chair on the five-member volunteer Citizens Advisory Commission on Civil Defense for the City & County of Honolulu. She is the marketing chair for the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce, is on the board of the YMCA of Honolulu, and is a member of SKAL International Hawaii, a visitor industry association. She also assists numerous non-profit organizations.
She has led the firm to win numerous awards, including those from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and the 2008 PRSA Koa Hammer Award for Consumer Marketing. She is proud of Bright Light’s reputation for quality work. Last year, she was honored by the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce as an Outstanding Member of the Year. In 2011, she was a finalist in Pacific Business News’ Women Who Mean Business Award, for-profit division.
