John Tarnoff MA

John Tarnoff is a reinvention career coach who provides innovative career guidance for late career professionals looking to defy ageism, ignore retirement, and pivot to a new job or new business as a second-act or encore career. Named one of the top 50 "Influencers on Aging" in 2017 by PBS/NextAvenue, John supports and coaches senior and C-level executives and business owners who are hitting a wall in their fifties and sixties. Unexpectedly marginalized in the marketplace, they learn how to renew their sense of purpose and direction, re-brand themselves, re-establish their value proposition, and pivot to a new and sustainable career focus.

His methodology is captured in his 2017 Amazon #1 bestselling book "Boomer Reinvention: How to Create Your Dream Career Over 50," a modular, practical, accessible program of five steps and twenty three underlying career strategies.

Fired 39% over the course of his 40 year career as a Los Angeles-based entertainment industry executive, John learned the secrets of turning setbacks into successes. When his tech startup folded at the end of the dotcom bubble in 2001, he went back to school at age 50 to figure out a second act career, and earned a master’s degree in spiritual psychology. Pivoting to a focus on people and career counseling, he joined DreamWorks Animation as Head of Show Development from 2003 – 2009, developing culture-changing creative leadership training and college recruiting programs that helped the company earn a place on both Forbes’ and Fortune’s “100 Best Places to Work” lists.

Since 2010, he has co-run the Carnegie Mellon University LA-based Master of Entertainment Industry Management grad program.

John holds a B.A. magna-cum-laude from Amherst College, and a M.A. in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica. He grew up in New York & Paris, and lives in Los Angeles.