We put our experience to work for you.

Who We Are

Our Beliefs

We created Off Piste Communications as a way to help channel all the things we’ve learned working in many different sectors to help people achieve their communication goals. We picked this name because in today’s cluttered ecosystem doing the predictable and expected won’t cut it (and because we love the outdoors). While “storytelling” is borderline cliche (see: authentic and curate) when we look back at ideas that worked, stories were at the core.

We believe there are a few fundamental things that are critical to achieving success:

1. Relentlessly work to understand the people you are trying to reach. What motivates them? What do they value? What do they care about?

2. Strip away all unnecessary points to get at the essence of why you are different and special. This can be harder than you think.

3. Make an emotional connection. All the stats and features in the world won’t break through

Our Promise

We’ve had many successful engagements and some that weren’t so good. No matter, we’ve learned a lot. Since every project is different, we don’t have a secret sauce. But we do have some guiding principles:

• We will listen closely to understand your unique challenge

• We won’t lose sight of the fact that you have stakeholders who also need to buy into the approach

• We will give you our honest advise and counsel.

Tom Scott, Principal

Tom Scott is a global marketing and communications leader who is committed to helping organizations share their stories and reach their audiences.

Tom brings a unique mix of experience to his approach, having held senior positions across politics, corporate, government and philanthropy. He is a branding expert, having created campaigns to get people to buy products, vote and engage on global issues.

Tom founded Off Piste Communications after spending nearly seven years as head of global marketing and innovation at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest philanthropic organization. In this role, he led brand, insights, content creation and global campaigns.

Prior to joining the foundation, Tom was Vice President of Consumer Sales and Communications for Diageo, the world’s largest premium drinks business. In this capacity, Tom led direct to consumer sales, corporate communications, brand public relations, national events, strategic alliances and digital strategies. He helped launch numerous new product innovations and developed communication strategies to help deliver shareholder value.

Tom has also held numerous senior communications positions in government and the private sector. He advised Fortune 500 companies and other organizations on their interactions with government. And he has worked in both Houses of Congress and on many political campaigns at the presidential, federal and local levels.

Tom is also founder of Publicwill, a lifestyle apparel and accessories company that gives 1% of its topline sales to fight climate change. He is an avid skier, runner and cyclist.