The CEO Who Became a Triathlete—at Age 53

After earning her undergraduate and master’s degrees specializing in marketing, public relations and advertising, Hilary Topper embarked on a corporate career working for major PR agencies in New York City, in addition to two large non-profit organizations as director of public relations and development. Then, some 30 years ago, Hilary went out on her own, founding HJMT Public Relations and building a roster of prominent clients across the country. Along the way she became an expert and widely recognized influencer in social media marketing, writing one of the earliest books on the subject, called “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Social Media, but were afraid to ask.” In her late 40s, she decided to give herself a real run for the money—literally. She was never an athlete, but decided to start running, and by age 53, she found that running was not enough. She became a triathlete. In today’s episode, Hilary talks about the daily challenge of organizing and managing the multi-hyphenate life as entrepreneur-author-podcaster-blogger-adjunct professor-marathoner-triathlete-coach. It has been a successful journey, but often a roller-coaster, as she has been forced to make major adjustments in response to life-altering events, like 9/11, the 2008 economic meltdown, and most recently, of course, the pandemic. Three years ago, Hilary reorganized her business; she no longer managing a staff of 25 people but continues to run a concierge PR firm. She also produces two blogs and a weekly podcast and has written a second book (a third is on the way), while preparing for the next triathlon and coaching beginner triathletes. No longer as engaged in her former high-adrenaline business world, Hilary points out one unmistakable benefit: She’s much happier now.