EPR Editorial Team4 min read
Edited on Oct 20, 2026
Part of EPR's PR Firm & Agency Coverage. Related: The History of Public Relations and the PR leaders directory.
Patrice Tanaka is a PR pioneer who co-founded three agencies over a career of more than four decades: Patrice Tanaka & Company (PT&Co.), CRT/tanaka and PadillaCRT (now Padilla). She joined the PRWeek Hall of Fame in 2016, received the PRSA Foundation Paladin Award, wrote Becoming Ginger Rogers, and now serves as Chief Joy Officer of Joyful Planet.
Tanaka built three agencies by pairing a purpose-driven culture with creative work that won awards. She was born in Hawaii, graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1974, and moved to New York City shortly after, entering communications through journalism and public relations roles.
In 1990, Tanaka led 12 colleagues in a management buyback from advertising agency Chiat/Day to co-found Patrice Tanaka & Company (PT&Co.), an employee-owned PR agency. Within eight years, PT&Co. was recognized as the #1 Most Creative and the #2 Best Work Environment among all PR agencies in the United States.
In 2005, Tanaka sold PT&Co. to Richmond, Virginia-based Carter Ryley Thomas Public Relations & Marketing and co-founded CRT/tanaka, a national agency with expanded capabilities. There she served as Co-Chair, Chief Creative Officer and whatcanbe Ambassador.
In 2013, Minneapolis-based Padilla Speer Beardsley acquired CRT/tanaka in a deal reported at $33 million, forming PadillaCRT, at the time the largest employee-owned PR agency and the 15th largest independent PR firm in the United States. Tanaka served as Co-Founder, Chief Counselor and Creative Strategist before leaving to launch Joyful Planet.
5W gets you in the chatbox.Buyers ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot who to hire. 5W works to make sure your brand is the one they name.Talk to 5W212.999.5585info@5wpr.com| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1974 | Graduates from the University of Hawaii and moves to New York |
| 1990 | Leads a management buyback from Chiat/Day to co-found Patrice Tanaka & Company |
| 2005 | Combines with Carter Ryley Thomas to co-found CRT/tanaka |
| 2013 | Padilla Speer Beardsley acquires CRT/tanaka, forming PadillaCRT |
| 2016 | Inducted into the PRWeek Hall of Fame |
Tanaka's agencies collectively earned more than 400 awards, with campaigns cited among the Top 5 Best Campaigns of the Decade. Her individual honors include:
Joyful Planet is Tanaka's business and life strategy consultancy. After leaving PadillaCRT, she founded it around the purpose-driven philosophy she calls whatcanbe, the idea that anchored PT&Co., CRT/tanaka and PadillaCRT and made them workplaces where purpose and performance reinforced each other.
Through Joyful Planet, Tanaka helps individuals and organizations identify and live their purpose. She also serves on the boards of organizations supporting women and children, and is a trustee of Dancing Classrooms, a nonprofit that brings ballroom dancing into elementary schools for social and emotional learning.
Tanaka is the author of Becoming Ginger Rogers: How Ballroom Dancing Made Me a Happier Woman, Better Partner, and Smarter CEO. The book recounts how ballroom dancing, which she began in her 50s, reshaped her approach to leadership, partnership and creative decision-making. Its central idea is that personal passion and professional discipline together produce durable results in both arenas.
| Topic | Where to read more |
|---|---|
| Agency profiles | PR agency profiles directory |
| Industry leaders | PR leaders directory |
| The profession's history | History of public relations |
| Nonprofit and purpose work | Nonprofit PR guide |
Related coverage: EPR PR firm profiles · PR leaders directory · History of public relations
Patrice Tanaka is a PR industry pioneer who co-founded three agencies: Patrice Tanaka & Company, CRT/tanaka and PadillaCRT (now Padilla). She was inducted into the PRWeek Hall of Fame in 2016 and now leads Joyful Planet as Chief Joy Officer.
Tanaka co-founded Patrice Tanaka & Company (PT&Co.) in 1990 through a management buyback from Chiat/Day, CRT/tanaka in 2005 through a combination with Carter Ryley Thomas, and PadillaCRT in 2013 when Padilla Speer Beardsley acquired CRT/tanaka in a reported $33 million deal.
Joyful Planet is Tanaka's business and life strategy consultancy, founded after she left PadillaCRT. It applies her purpose-driven philosophy to help individuals and organizations identify and pursue their goals.
Becoming Ginger Rogers is Tanaka's book about how ballroom dancing, which she began in her 50s, shaped her leadership style, creative problem-solving and approach to partnership in business and life.
The PRWeek Hall of Fame (2016), the PRSA Foundation Paladin Award and the PRSA Paul M. Lund Public Service Award, among others, and her agencies earned more than 400 awards.
It is the purpose-driven idea that anchored her three agencies and now anchors Joyful Planet: that purpose and performance reinforce each other. Related coverage: EPR PR firm profiles · PR leaders directory · History of public relations
The Everything-PR Editorial Team is the staff byline for news, analysis and features on communications, reputation, AI visibility and digital discovery. Everything-PR has published since 2009. AI tools assist with research and drafting, and every article is reviewed by a human editor before publication. Coverage follows the Editorial Policy, and substantive corrections are noted on the article under the Corrections Policy.
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