After 25 years in marketing and public relations, Tania Torres has built a career around understanding people, culture and the changes that shape the way organizations do business.
In 2009, Torres founded TORRES Multicultural, which has grown to be the longest-standing multicultural marketing and public relations agency in the Valley. Now, she is expanding her work to advise leaders directly.
Torres recently launched a strategic advisory service through TORRES Multicultural, working one-on-one with CEOs, presidents, public officials, executive teams and board members.
“Our industry, like all industries, with the introduction of AI .. and just the needs of our clients, there has been more and more of a request for clients to work directly with me on a one-on-one basis for strategic advisory,” Torres said.
The goal is to provide leaders with an outside perspective when making important decisions.
“I like to call it to help them see around the corners,” she said. “A lot of times when you’re immersed in your environment, you tend to form a bubble around you.”
Torres says that outside perspective can be particularly valuable for entrepreneurial CEOs who have built large businesses.
“A lot of times, it’s very helpful for someone to come in from the outside and help guide them as they make decisions,” she said.
The advisory work is intentionally limited, with Torres taking on only a couple of engagements each year.
“That’s part of my commitment to make sure that I’m providing meaningful value and personalized guidance to each client,” she said.
For Torres, the work is a natural extension of the experience she has gained building her own business over nearly two decades.
“I’m very excited with the CEOs that I’m currently working with because they’re all working on very exciting projects,” she said. “And the fact that I can come in and help guide them through that process has been really fulfilling for me.”
Her career has also been shaped by her experiences as a woman and person of color in an industry where she was often the only one in the room.
“My biggest advice is for individuals to really own who they are,” Torres said. “There’s only one of you walking around in this world. And so that’s very special.”
Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, and raised in the United States by immigrant parents, Torres says embracing her background eventually became one of her greatest professional assets.
“When I started the ad agency or even when I started my career in advertising back in the ’90s, the census had just barely done a study and started counting Latinos,” she said. “And it was at that time when the Latino market really started turning heads.”
Today, artificial intelligence is one of the biggest changes Torres is watching as she considers what’s next for her company and her clients. “When it comes to AI, and as with anything that’s changing our world, you really have to grab the bull by the horns to not be afraid of it because it’s not gonna go anywhere,” Torres said.
Rapid Fire Questions with Tania Torres:
Zodiac sign: Scorpio
Business superpower: Transformation
Sephora or Ulta: Sephora
Tequila or mezcal: Tequila
Always in her purse: Sunglasses
Early bird or night owl: “I’m a 5:00 AM kinda girl.”
Heels or sneakers: Heels
Salsa or reggaeton: Both
Beach or mountains: Beach
Latina role model: Sonia Sotomayor: “When she sits in a room, she’s representing all of us”
Favorite Spanish Saying: “Si Dios Quiere”
