Agency Business

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, Brian interviews Kat Ott , president of Havas Chicago . Kat’s unconventional path into advertising—from professional ballerina to agency president—shapes her perspective as what she calls a “modern marketer.” She explains how Havas Chicago operates like a speedboat: integrated, mid-size, and agile enough to make quick turns that larger holding companies can’t...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, co-hosts Brian and Olivia are joined by Chad Maxwell , president of Kelly Scott Madison (KSM) . Maxwell’s path into advertising started in anthropology, a background that still informs how he runs KSM today—both in understanding consumers and in building culture inside the agency. He shares how that perspective shapes hiring, talent development, and client st...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week Jason Mitchell , CEO of Movement Strategy , joins us to discuss how a social‑first shop scales from a college startup into a 180‑person creative agency. He explains why early pricing was a competitive advantage, how Movement Strategy grew from social AOR work into 360 creative projects, and why creator marketing works best when platform tools are paired with r...

In this episode of Agency Business, Haley Hunter , co-founder, COO, and CMO of Party Land , joins us to discuss building a comedy-forward creative agency that can still win serious business. Haley shares how Party Land has scaled from a scrappy indie shop into a creative force behind campaigns for brands like Liquid Death, Every Man Jack, JanSport, and Google. She explains how the agency’s clear f...

In this episode of Agency Business , Andrea Kerr Redniss , managing director and co-lead of marketing transformation at MediaLink , joins us to discuss how the firm has evolved from its relationship-driven origins into a full-fledged strategic consultancy. She shares how MediaLink works with Fortune 100 brands on marketing transformation, AI integration, and agency strategy—often in partnership wi...

This week on Agency Business , Olivia and Brian speak with Nadja Bellan-White , group CEO of M+C Saatchi Americas . Nadja explains how the agency is structured to compete across disciplines—from creative and PR to sports marketing and issues management—while remaining lean and independent. She outlines how the team scopes work through upfront strategy sessions and how a focus on speed, senior tale...

This week on Agency Business, Olivia and Brian speak with Emma Armstrong , CEO of FCB New York and global transformation officer at FCB. Emma shares how FCB’s structure gives local offices real autonomy, and how her newly formalized transformation role helps scale innovation across the network. She reflects on how her team built a strong creative reputation, why agency operations must evolve along...

This week on Agency Business , Olivia speaks with Chris Lowery , president of Chase Design Group . Chris shares how he helped scale Chase Design Group from a three-person studio in a Silver Lake house into a global design agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York, and the UK. He reflects on the company’s creative roots in music and entertainment, the influence of founder Margo Chase, and how th...

This week on Agency Business, Olivia speaks with Tim Ringel , global CEO and founder of Meet the People . Tim shares how his global performance marketing background and time at IPG informed his vision for Meet the People, an independent agency group now 800 people strong. The company’s pitch? A multi-agency model designed to preserve individual agency cultures while operating under a single P&...

Tyler Turnbull , global CEO of FCB , joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to talk about what it means to run a global creative network today—and why he’s betting on premium creativity, flexible local leadership, and a new approach to audience planning. Tyler traces his own journey from intern to global CEO, shares how FCB evolved after the DraftFCB merger, and explains why the network emp...

This week’s episode of Agency Business is a little different—our scheduled guest couldn’t make it, so co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser go deep on the biggest news of the week. From sudden account moves to growing competition from consulting firms, we explore what it all means for agencies navigating a rapidly evolving landscape. Subscribe to the Agency Business newsletter. Reach Out Agency...

Jill Kelly , North America CEO of Assembly , joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss her first few months leading the Stagwell media agency—and how she’s thinking about pricing models, technology, and talent in an increasingly complex media ecosystem. Jill shares her unconventional path to executive leadership, which spans media buying, corporate communications, and group-level le...

Talia Arnold , managing director and co-founder of Exverus Media , joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss how the Los Angeles-based agency has scaled without shortcuts—maintaining a lean team, independent ethos, and focus on solving complex marketing problems with creativity and tech-enabled insight. Talia shares her nontraditional path into media, why she believes “anyone can st...

Sean Corcoran , president of MissionOne Media and longtime agency leader, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss the launch of MissionOne within the growing “big indie” platform BarkleyOKRP—and what it takes to build a media brand inside a full-service agency structure. Sean walks through his career path, from political work and affiliate marketing to stints as a Forrester analys...

Reid Carr , CEO and executive creative director of Red Door Interactive joins this week's episode of Agency Business. In a wide-ranging interview, Reid shares the history of his agency, its focus on integrated services and the choices he has made as the business has grown. Plus, Brian and Reid discuss: S4 Capital and Stagwell 's diverging Q1 2025 results Layoffs at GroupM (or WPP Media Services) a...

Jared Belsky , CEO and co-founder of Acadia , joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to talk about building a mid-market agency at scale and why he’s become one of the industry’s most vocal critics of principal-based media buying. Jared shares what led him to co-found Acadia after leading 360i, and why the firm has centered its business model around operational efficiency, cultural values,...

José Villa , founder and president of Sensis , joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to talk about what it takes to build and scale an independent cross-cultural agency, and what the future of multicultural marketing looks like in today's shifting business and political climate. José shares the origin story behind Sensis, how the agency evolved from a digital-first shop building Spanish-la...

Nicole Estebanell , U.S. CEO of Mediahub , joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to talk about what it means to lead a challenger agency inside one of the world’s largest media networks. Nicole walks through her career journey, beginning with her early media roles at Digitas and Neo to later leading the Nike account at Mindshare, serving as global chief client officer at Initiative, and no...

Jon Cook , CEO of VML , joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to talk about the agency’s evolution and what it means to lead a business that spans both world-class creative and deep enterprise technology. Jon walks through how VML was formed through a series of mergers — including Wunderman, J. Walter Thompson, and Y&R — and how the newly unified brand operates across creativity, comme...

Simon Hill , U.S. president of FutureBrand , joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to talk about what it takes to build a consultancy built around brand, inside one of the world’s largest holding companies. Simon shares how FutureBrand operates as a brand-led strategy and design company within IPG, and how the firm balances its project-based model with the broader agency network. He discus...

Lisa Clunie , co-founder and CEO of JOAN joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to talk about what it takes to build and lead a modern independent agency. From JOAN's origins in New York to its expansion into Berlin and London, Lisa shares how the company has evolved into a multi-faceted creative firm—with an advertising agency, production studio, and influencer arm—all while staying founde...

Kate O’Brien , founder of Powers of Reasoning and former executive at Omnicom Media Group agencies such as Hearts & Science and Resolution Agency, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss evolving compensation models, balancing senior talent with efficiency, and the future of media agency leadership.​ Drawing from her extensive experience leading media strategy for global brand...

Jane Crisan , CEO of Rain the Growth Agency , joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss how independent agencies are navigating market uncertainty, balancing media and creative, and leveraging technology to drive client growth. Jane shares her journey from leading digital practices at holding company agencies to taking the helm at Rain, a Portland-based, female-led independent agenc...

Kern Schireson , chairman & CEO of Known , joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to break down what’s wrong with today’s agency model and how data, AI, and a new approach to transparency could fix it. Kern shares his journey from building a data science consultancy to leading Viacom’s advanced TV efforts and ultimately launching Known, an agency designed to address the inefficiencies o...

Bob Lord, President of Horizon Media Holdings, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss how Horizon is challenging the traditional agency model with AI, transparency, and performance-based pricing. Bob explains why he believes the media industry is in a “Great Marketing Emergency”—lagging behind other sectors in adopting technology and transparency. He shares how Horizon’s propriet...