Irvine Co. official quits after 13 years

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- Despite 52 years of a career that took Larry Thomas from

writing news in San Diego to making news in Washington, he never did get

enough time for himself.

Until now.

The Irvine Co.’s senior vice president of corporate communications has

announced that he will pack up his briefcase and take a two-year journey

down a more introspective road.

“He is passionate about balance as evidenced in his decision that there

are other things in life besides work,” said co-worker Paul Kranhold. “He

packs the most he can into his life. I think he just came to realize that

there weren’t enough hours.”

Thomas said he learned to keep unexpected events from spilling into media

disasters through a lifetime of crisis management.

He began his career as a reporter in San Diego covering politics. After

following former Gov. Pete Wilson’s race, the politician offered the

22-year-old a position as press secretary. The opportunity to serve a man

with vision, and a pay raise from $12,000 to $16,000, was too tempting to

pass up, he said.

“That was a very significant turn,” Thomas said. “It took me out of

journalism into the world of politics.”

It was a journey that eventually took Thomas all the way to Washington,

D.C., serving as press secretary for then-Vice President George Bush. And

then, after reaching the pinnacle of political crisis management, Thomas

decided to try the world of business.

“[My friend] went on a mission on behalf of Donald Bren to encourage me

to join the Irvine Co.,” he said, adding that this was done over a few

very persuasive bottles of wine. “I was eager to be close to California,

the water and my daughter.”

Thomas has been with the company for more than a decade now, maintaining

the massive development company’s face in the community. His day usually

starts at 5:30 a.m. with yoga or a workout and going over at least four

newspapers before he begins at the office, usually ending well after the

sun sets.

“I’ve been treated very nicely and have had a chance to pursue a lot of

personal interests,” he said. “I want a pause to reorient my life.”

After about three decades in the limelight of media and communications,

Thomas wants to pursue a growing personal wish list. He plans to get in

better physical and spiritual shape by reading, perfecting his backhand,

becoming a better photographer and, of course, climbing more mountains.

Most importantly, he is looking forward to becoming a more attentive

father to his 19-year-old daughter, who is just discovering where her

path will take her.