Leader Generation

Alex Seidita, Chief Information Officer at Aspida, and Tessa Burg talk about how organizations can successfully navigate technological transformation—especially in the age of AI.  With more than 35 years of IT leadership experience at organizations like Motorola, Citibank, Home Depot, MetLife, and now Aspida, Alex shares how major shifts like data warehousing, virtualization and cloud adoption hav...

Wondering why your brand isn’t showing up in answer engines like Google AI Overviews, Perplexity AI, and ChatGPT—even though you’ve been investing in content and SEO? Maurice White, who leads SEO at Mod Op, is back to explain the rise of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and why it’s changing the way we think about search. Maurice and Tessa Burg break down what GEO means, how it fits into your...

Tessa Burg and Aaron Grando break down one of the most talked-about topics in AI right now: context engineering. If you've been using AI tools and wondering why your outputs sometimes sound generic or miss the mark, this episode is for you.    Aaron explains how context engineering helps AI better understand what you want by feeding it the right information—from your brand voice to real-time data—...

In this episode of Leader Generation, Creative Director Leu Solomon shares a real-world example of how AI helped her and the Mod Op team deliver a complex creative project under tight budget constraints—without sacrificing quality.  Leu walks us through the challenge: Creating a single hero image featuring up to nine custom building illustrations for a commercial real estate client. Traditional de...

Kate Long, VP of Marketing at Crunchbase, shares how her team is leading a bold transformation—from a product-led growth model to a sales-led, AI-powered strategy.  In this conversation, Kate breaks down how Crunchbase is leveraging predictive signals to deliver meaningful value earlier in the buyer journey, before prospects even know they’re in-market. Kate also opens up about leading teams throu...

Retail media is evolving fast, but not always in the right direction. In this episode of Leader Generation, Drew Cashmore, Chief Strategy Officer at Vantage, joins Tessa Burg fresh from the Cannes Lions Festival to break down the biggest conversations shaping the future of retail and commerce media. Drew shares what he's seeing across the industry—the opportunities, the challenges and where market...

In this episode of Leader Generation, Tessa Burg chats with Matt Bretz and Gary Goodman, two seasoned veterans in the games and entertainment space.  With decades of experience, Matt and Gary share their journeys from working in Hollywood and gaming to leading creative teams at Mod Op. They discuss the evolution of the industry, the importance of data and AI, and how both play a role in crafting e...

If you’ve ever wondered how to go beyond ChatGPT and actually connect AI to real-world systems and workflows, this conversation is for you.  Tessa Burg gathers with three Mod Op experts—Fabio Fiss, Aaron Grando and Javier López—to break down key technologies like MCP (Model Context Protocol) and A2A (Agent-to-Agent). The team explains how they work, and shares examples of how they’re already being...

The way people search for information is changing fast. In this episode of Leader Generation, Tessa Burg is joined by Maurice White and Chris Harihar for a discussion about Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).  They explore how search behavior is evolving with the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity, and what that means for brands aiming to show up in these new discovery environments. Ma...

Aaron Grando guest hosts on this episode of the Leader Generation Podcast, where we explore the fast-growing world of "vibe coding" with Joe DiGiovanna, VP of Technology, and Fabio Fiss, head of the DX team at Mod Op.  If you’ve heard the term “vibe coding” floating around but aren’t quite sure what it means—or how it applies to real-world development work—this is the conversation you need to hear...

What if you could stretch your media budget without spending more? In this episode of Leader Generation, host Tessa Burg talks with Wandrille Leroy, the brains behind the Scibids AI at DoubleVerify, about how marketers can get more value from their ad spend using smarter, customizable automation.  Wandrille explains how Scibids helps marketers take control of their media-buying strategy, align spe...

What happens when an old-school creative jumps headfirst into AI? In this episode of Leader Generation, Tessa Burg talks with Sergio Cardona for an eye-opening look at how technology is changing the creative process.  Sergio shares his journey from traditional design roots to becoming a leader in AI-driven creativity, showing how curiosity and adaptability can open new doors for any creative profe...

Explore how AI can automate quality assurance and testing for marketers and content teams.  QA experts Giselle Castro and Carlos Obaldia share how they compared two leading AI tools, Katalon and BrowserStack. Together, they discuss how these platforms help teams test faster, cover more ground and free up valuable time for creative and strategic work. Listeners will get a firsthand look at how Mod...

What if data wasn’t just something you measured, but a powerful spark for your most creative marketing ideas? In this episode, Tessa Burg talks with Boobesh Ramadurai to explore how artificial intelligence is changing the game for marketers—especially when it comes to blending data, creativity, and speed.  With over two decades of experience working with Fortune 500 companies, Boobesh shares real-...

What if the biggest impact of AI isn’t replacing jobs, but quickly raising the bar for everyone? In this episode of Leader Generation, host Tessa Burg talks with serial entrepreneur and Corpora.ai CEO Mel Morris about AI in business and marketing.  Mel brings decades of experience building and scaling tech companies—from his humble beginnings in data collection to leading King Digital, the force b...

In this episode of Leader Generation, host Tessa Burg speaks with Aaron Grando, VP of Creative Innovation at Mod Op, about how the agency is using AI to enhance creative work and improve client experiences.  Aaron shares the story behind Brand Agent, Mod Op’s AI-powered assistant designed to align capabilities similar to ChatGPT with each client’s unique voice, values and goals. Aaron and Tessa di...

To celebrate Women in Tech Day, Tessa Burg is joined by Elli Dimitroulakos, Head of Ad Product and Innovation at Media.net. As a trailblazer in the ad tech industry, Elli shares her journey through transformative roles in media, TV, DSPs, broadcasting, publishing and podcasting.  She discusses how embracing change and fostering cultures of innovation have fueled her success, even when faced with r...

Change is hard—especially in big organizations with deeply ingrained processes. But what if you could lead transformation in a way that not only gets buy-in but also generates real business growth?  In this episode of Leader Generation, Alan Wizemann, Chief Digital Officer at Southern Glazer’s, shares how he has built a career helping companies like Target, Lululemon and Dollar Shave Club evolve i...

Curious about AI-powered video and audio editing but don’t know where to start?  In this episode of Leader Generation, Cheryl Boehm and Patty Parobek share their experiences with Descript, an AI-driven tool that simplifies the editing process—even if you have zero experience. They share real-world insights from their hands-on testing, covering both the advantages and limitations of the platform. W...

Experiential events are booming, and Liz Holden joins Tessa Burg to explain why.  In this episode, Liz shares how AI and emerging technologies are revolutionizing how brands engage with audiences in physical spaces. From personalized event experiences to interactive tech like AR, VR and voice-enabled AI, the future of events is more dynamic than ever. You’ll also hear about the lasting impact of t...

Is your performance marketing strategy keeping up with the rapid changes in data, AI and media attribution?  In this episode of Leader Generation, Tessa Burg talks with Jeremy Haft, Chief Revenue Officer at Digital Remedy, about how brands can navigate these shifts to drive real business results. Jeremy shares insights on how marketers can connect the dots between upper-funnel awareness channels a...

Retail marketing is changing fast, and AI is at the center of it all. John Gomez, CEO of RPM Labs, breaks down how AI-driven retail media is transforming the in-store shopping experience.  John shares insights from his journey in the retail industry to pioneering AI-powered intent engines that make in-store media more relevant and effective. He reveals why traditional retail media has struggled, h...

In this AI Playground episode of Leader Generation, the Mod Op team explores DeepSeek, a new open-source AI model making waves in the industry.  Tessa Burg, Aaron Grando, Patty Parobek, and Sasha Dookhoo break down what makes DeepSeek different, how it stacks up against other AI models like ChatGPT, and why businesses must be cautious before jumping in. You’ll hear firsthand insights on DeepSeek’s...

Tessa Burg welcomes Tal Jacobson, CEO of Perion, for a conversation about the fast-moving world of digital media.  Tal shares insights from his nearly 30-year career in digital marketing. With a deep understanding of both technology and media, Tal explains why marketers need to shift their focus from channels and formats to audience behavior—and how AI can help cut waste and drive real results. Ta...

Navigating change in today’s fast-moving marketing landscape isn’t easy—especially with the constant pressure to adopt new technologies, evolve strategies and meet ambitious goals.  In this episode of Leader Generation, host Tessa Burg talks with Anna Jankowska, Author and EVP of Adlook and RTB House, to discuss how leaders can bring their teams along through transformation while maintaining clari...