Episodes
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Longtime friend of Advertising Week and Founder of creative agency Gravity Road, Mark Eaves, joins Great Minds for a lively discussion about his career, the industry, and much, much more. This is a don't miss episode of Great Minds.
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Victoria is the founder and CEO of GingerMay, a multi-award winning global B2B PR and digital marketing agency for blue-chip, technology, advertising, media, and fast-growth disruptive businesses. GingerMay works with leading global companies including Comcast, Global and Oath. Our numerous industry accolades are driven by our reputation for rigour, remarkable thinking, and strong relationships with clients and journalists.
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Missing episodes?
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Rachel Shechtman is a fourth-generation retail entrepreneur and founder of STORY, a concept store known for its editorial, ever-changing approach to retail. Prior to opening STORY, Rachel built a career in consulting, founding Cube Ventures in 2002 - an independent firm known for its skill of strategically combining business models.
When Rachel launched STORY in 2011 she did so with the belief that retail held the potential to be about more than the transaction - it could serve as a channel for branded, community-based storytelling – retail media. STORY offered the point of a magazine, changed like a gallery, and sold things like a store. After seven years and 44 different ‘themes’, in April 2018, Rachel sold STORY to Macy’s Inc. where she served as Brand Experience Officer until July 2020. During her time at Macy’s, Rachel successfully launched two new businesses for the brand and built a 150+ person cross-functional team specifically and strategically designed to operate, perform and generate effective results efficiently and nimbly within the larger, traditional operation.
Rachel has been recognized as Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business, Fortune Magazine’s 40 Under 40, Crain’s Under 40 and Ad Age’s 50 Most Creative. The AAF inducted Rachel into its Advertising Hall of Achievement and in 2018 Shechtman was named a Henry Crown Fellow by the Aspen Institute.
Rachel sits on the Board of Directors of the National Retail Federation (NRF) and CAMP, an experiential family retail concept and media company. -
Dan Amos is chairman, chief executive officer and president of Aflac Incorporated and the second longest-serving CEO in the FORTUNE 250. Under his leadership as CEO, Aflac Incorporated’s total return to shareholders1 has exceeded 15,446%, compared with 3,075% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 2,812% for the S&P 500 Index and 1,471% for the S&P 500 Life & Health Insurance Index. In 2000, Dan launched the popular Aflac Duck advertising campaign, transforming Aflac from a successful supplemental insurance company to a top international brand.
Under Dan’s leadership, today, Aflac helps provide protection to millions of policyholders through subsidiaries in Japan and the U.S. by paying cash fast when policyholders get sick or injured. For nearly seven decades, insurance policies of Aflac Incorporated's subsidiaries have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In Japan, Aflac is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance. In the U.S., Aflac is the number one provider of supplemental health insurance products.2 -
Sarah Mehler is a creative technology executive with more than 20 years of leadership in the experience design ecosystem.
After graduating from the Design and Media Arts program at UCLA, she began cultivating close partnerships with leading brands and accomplished decision makers to grow the bounds of what’s possible through human-centric technology.
As the Founder and CEO of Left Field Labs, Sarah has combined industry-leading vision with an empathetic approach to deliver experiences that achieve successful business objectives and meaningful human impact for companies like Google, Amazon, Meta, Verizon, and Sony.
Their areas of specialization include: experiential, immersive, and digital products and platforms.
Sarah strives to bring out the best in her teams while modeling a graceful commitment to the greatest possible good in every situation. -
Ahead of Advertising Week New York 2024, taking place at THE PENN DISTRICT, Great Minds welcomes Skylight CEO Stephanie Blake back to the show. Skylight is a placemaking and venue development, management and consulting firm committed to creating bespoke venues in storied places.
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Longtime Advertising Week friend Tim Armstrong joins Great Minds to discuss Flowcode, his latest endeavor. Flowcode is the #1 trusted QR provider for instant conversions and real-time data.
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Jon O'Donnell is Founder & CEO of Viral Tribe Entertainment, a next generation podcasting platform powered by talent and technology, triibe.fm
Viral Tribe is reshaping the podcast experience both for the those who create the content and those who consume it. Their mission is to bring talent and their fans closer together in what will be the most interactive next generation podcasting experience on the market. -
Jessica Ling is the Executive Vice President of Global Brand Advertising at American Express. She leads the company’s brand engagement and prospect consideration globally through innovative media, analytics and measurement, talent partnerships, and creative content. Her role also includes overseeing American Express’ in-house creative agency, OnBrand, and Shop Small brand platform.
Since joining American Express in 2019, Jess has held several senior marketing roles spanning both brand and performance marketing.
Prior to American Express, Jess was Head of B2B Marketing at Verizon Media, where she spent over six years leading a cross-functional B2B marketing organization focused on accelerating growth for Verizon Media’s commercial business. -
As president and CEO of Index Exchange, Andrew is responsible for providing strategic direction and market vision to the company and leading the brightest minds in advertising technology across North America, Europe, and APAC. With a sharp focus on delivering benefits to the world’s leading media owners and buyers as they tackle the world of automation, he’s built Index Exchange as one of the most efficient and transparent ad exchanges in the advertising ecosystem.
A respected industry thought leader, Andrew is a sought-after source for his expertise and opinions on programmatic and the media industry at large, as well as the imperative need to transact with transparency. -
Malcolm joined Cheil Worldwide at the beginning of 2015 as the Network's first ever Global Chief Creative Officer.
Having built and led teams responsible for award-winning firsts as diverse as Foot Locker's Sneakerpedia, Dove's Campaign For Real Beauty and Samsung’s #BeFearless VR experience, Malcolm is a recognised industry influencer and speaker. A two time Cannes Lions Jury President, Clio Awards and LIA Awards Jury president, Malcolm was recently named one of AdAge magazine's "World's Top 10 Digital minds" and named by TechCity Insider as one of the UK's leading Digital Innovators. His international industry accolades number more than 500, including Cannes Lions for Film, Print, Media, Outdoor, Cyber, Glass and Mobile.
Prior to joining Cheil, Malcolm was European Chief Creative Officer and a member of Sapient's global leadership team where he helped build the company to in excess of a billion dollars in annual revenue, putting Sapient amongst Fortune Magazine's 40 fastest growing companies in the world. M&CSaatchi, Saatchi&Saatchi, Ogilvy and SapientNitro have all won Agency of the Year titles during his creative leadership. With Cheil Worldwide, Malcolm has steered the network into the industry’s Top 10 Creative Network rankings and has seen the Network win their first Glass Lion at Cannes, first Innovation award at AdFest, Gran Sol at El Sol Awards, Grand Prix at Dubai Lynx, Gold at the International ANDY awards, collect their first WEBBY awards, create the Most Viewed Ad in the World on YouTube and post record new business success with Samsung along with winning global accounts including Etihad Airways, adidas, PZ Cussons, Abbot and UN Women.
A Kiwi, Malcolm is a former member of the NZ Yachting Team, recognised by KEA as a ‘World Class New Zealander’, former board member of the UK's Institute of Contemporary Art, Patron of the Royal Academy of Arts, C.A.L.M. and a member of the Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Malcolm lives in London with his Australian wife and English daughter. -
On this episode of Great Minds, we're pleased to welcome Tom O'Keefe, Creative Chairman, and Jeff King, CEO, of the newly merged BarkleyOKRP.
BarkleyOKRP is a new advertising agency formed by the merger of two prominent agencies, Barkley and OKRP. The merger creates one of the largest independent agencies in the United States, with offices in Chicago, Denver, New York, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City. BarkleyOKRP aims to be independent enough to create bold work while having the capabilities to build whole brands. -
Chuck Leavell was a member of the Allman Brothers Band throughout their commercial zenith in the 1970s, he subsequently became a founding member of the band Sea Level. He has served as the principal touring keyboardist and musical director of the Rolling Stones since 1982. As a session musician, Leavell has performed on every Rolling Stones studio album released since 1983 with the exception of Bridges to Babylon (1997). He has also toured and recorded with Eric Clapton, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Gov't Mule and John Mayer.
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Jamila Wignot is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her body of work includes, the Emmy-nominated MAKERS: WOMEN IN BUSINESS; THE AFRICAN AMERICANS: MANY RIVERS TO CROSS, hosted by Henry Louis Gates, which won a Peabody, Emmy, and NAACP awards; TOWN HALL a feature-length co-production with ITVS about the Tea Party movement; and for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE the Peabody Award-winning, "Triangle Fire" and Emmy-nominated "Walt Whitman".
Wignot’s producing credits include “The Rehnquist Revolution,” the fourth episode of WNET’s series THE SUPREME COURT which was an IDA Best Limited Series winner and STREET FIGHTING MAN, character-driven documentary, currently in post-production, about the daily lives of three men surviving in the neighborhoods of post-industrial Detroit. -
Alex Collmer is the founder and CEO of VidMob, the leading creative data company. The AI-based software improves creative and media performance by helping brands and agencies derive their own custom creative best practices, and ensure that those learnings are applied across all flighted media. Vidmob counts many of the world’s leading brands and agencies as clients and helps them drive brand consistency, reduce creative and media waste, and increase overall business performance across the funnel. Since founding the company in 2015, Alex has raised more than $230M in venture funding and has received numerous awards including Ad Age’s Best Places to Work and Digiday’s Most Innovative Technology Award.
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Jason Keehn is the founder of Accompany Creative, the award-winning, impact-driven creative agency recently named Ad Age’s Purpose Agency of the Year. With their motto of “We make good, work” Accompany Creative focuses on transforming brands into change agents through inspiring, mission-led storytelling and design. The company is a collective of socially conscious branding, marketing, PR, product design, merchandising, and sourcing leaders who work together to help brands authentically connect with values-driven consumers throughout the entire brand experience. Jason’s expertise in both aspirational campaigns and impact-minded products and programs can be seen in their work for a client roster that includes Nespresso, Neiman Marcus, Vestiaire Collective, ABC Carpet & Home, Levi’s, NBC Universal, God’s Love We Deliver, and the YMCA of Greater New York.
Jason’s entrepreneurial passion centers on harnessing the power of consumer-minded branding, design, and storytelling for brands and business models that are doing not just “less bad” but also “more good.” In 2022, he launched the first-ever mission-driven merchandising with Universal Pictures for the film “Jurassic World” – work that earned the agency its first Clio award.
Prior to launching Accompany Creative, Jason spent 20+ years in brand strategy, identity, and integrated advertising as Chief Growth Officer at independent creative agency Yard NYC.
With an MS degree in global bioethics from Columbia University, Jason has published his research in academic journals about the ethics of marketing and has spoken about his integrated branding/ethics perspective at prominent venues like the United Nations General Assembly, Columbia University Commencement, US Consulate General in China, SXSW Eco, and Fashion Forward. -
Issa Jouaneh is President, Connections, at Emerald, and is responsible for leading the strategic oversight and growth optimization of the company’s core business, comprised of 140+ leading events, trade shows, and conferences.
Issa joined Emerald in March 2021 as Executive Vice President of Emerald Xcelerator, leading the company’s market diversification strategy through new shows, partnerships, and sub-expo launches.
Issa has over 20 years of experience leading multidisciplinary, cross-functional teams across a wide range of industries.
His professional journey includes leading technology, application, and web development teams at Electronic Data Systems and a 14-year tenure at The American Express Company and American Express Global Business Travel. He ultimately served as Senior Vice President and General Manager, leading American Express Meetings & Events globally, where he successfully led the transformation of the business, tripling its size and reaching over 2,400 employees in 25+ proprietary countries.
Issa holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from McGill University and a Master of Business Administration from Schulich School of Business at York University. -
Heidi Dangelmaier is an inventor + designer + scientist (Quantum Physics & Artificial Intelligence). She has a track record of inventing first to market mass-appeal products, technology, entertainment & brands. Her gift at activating mass-scale growth in the female market is peerless. She's generated billions in revenues for many global brands. She's the most recognized leader at the frontiers of Market Growth X Gender X Design.
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Robert E. (Bob) Hope is a veteran of the public relations and event marketing business. He is co-owner and president of Hope-Beckham, an independent agency based in Atlanta.
Hope and longtime friend Paul Beckham started Hope-Beckham 25 years ago.
Clients have included Chick-fil-A Foundation, Turner Broadcasting, Belk, The Coca-Cola Company, Southern Company, Home Depot, Comcast and a variety of sports teams and leagues as well as non-profit organizations.
He is author of two books – “We Could Have Finished Last Without You” about his early days with the Braves, and “Greater Late than Never” about people who achieved their life’s success after age 50.
Will Rogers once said there are two kinds of people on earth – those who march in the parade and those who sit on the curb and watch. If you march, you have only one view your entire life. However, if you sit on the right curb, you see marvelous things.
Bob Hope has spent his life on a marvelous curb observing remarkable people and events. He started working for the Atlanta Braves while in college and became the team’s director of public relations and promotions at age 24. He managed the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at age 25. And he was with Hank Aaron during the chase to break the all-time home run record of Babe Ruth.
When Ted Turner bought the team, he was promoted to vice president at age 29 and worked not only for the Braves but also the Turner-owned Atlanta Hawks and for Turner’s TV station, handling marketing for the Braves and the TV station.
He left Turner to work on sports, particularly the Olympics, for The Coca-Cola Company and then decided to go into the public relations agency business so he could work for both Coke and Turner, which led to a career in New York in a top job of the world’s largest public relations firm.
Along the way, he has been involved in many Olympics, including Atlanta. He helped several cities with their campaigns to land major league sports franchises – Charlotte in the NBA, Miami, Denver and Washington in Major League Baseball, Ottawa in hockey, and Atlanta in the WNBA.
He also attempted to open the doors to girls and women as baseball players, creating the Colorado Silver Bullets professional baseball team of elite women athletes, which traveled the world for four years playing against men’s amateur, college and minor league professional teams. The team was managed by former Braves star pitcher Phil Niekro. His involvement with the Silver Bullets led to a 14-year stint on the board of Billie Jean King’s Women’s Sports Foundation and six years as the only male on its executive committee. The WSF is the chief lobbying organization in favor of equal education opportunities, including sports, for women in colleges and universities. -
With 20 years of tech experience, and after witnessing the explosion of marketing data and its potential to inform business decisions, Alexander saw a clear gap in the market that he was determined to fill. This led to the founding of Adverity, an intelligent marketing analytics platform, which he co-founded with colleagues Martin Brunthaler and Andreas Glänzer in 2015.
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