Agency Business

Welcome to Agency Business. This week Dan Khabie , cofounder of CourtAvenue , joined Olivia for a conversation about building an independent digital and AI transformation agency — from a garage startup in San Diego to a 250-person company growing at 64% year-over-year. Daniel discusses CourtAvenue's five pillar go-to-market strategy — spanning digital ecosystems, retail media, physical-digital exp...

Welcome to Agency Business. Brian and Olivia interviewed Beth Ann Kaminkow , CEO of the Americas and global chief client officer at Dentsu, following a significant leadership transition and renewed scrutiny of the company’s international business. The conversation comes as Dentsu posted weak financial results , announced Takeshi Sano as its new global CEO and president, and signaled that a previou...

Welcome to Agency Business. John Elder , CEO and co-founder of independent creative agency Supergood , joined Brian and Olivia to discuss how data — not AI alone — may become the real differentiator for agencies navigating margin pressure and rising client expectations. Reach Out Subscribe for free to the Agency Business newsletter. Interested in joining Agency Business as a guest? Submit a pitch....

Welcome to Agency Business. Patti McConnell , co-founder and managing partner, and Tommy Henvey , co-founder and chief creative officer of independent creative agency Something Different , joined Brian and Olivia for a conversation about building an agency designed for closeness, flexibility, and creative fulfillment rather than scale. Patti and Tommy discuss the studio model that allows Something...

Welcome to Agency Business. Judith Carr-Rodriguez , CEO and partner at independent full-service creative agency, FIG , joined Brian and Olivia this week on the podcast. Judith shared how clients increasingly value small, senior teams over large pyramidal organizations, how FIG has grown by focusing on long-term AOR relationships rather than project-based work, and why the agency has become more se...

Welcome to Agency Business. Andrew Cohen , CEO of independent St. Louis creative agency Moosylvania , joined Brian and Olivia for a candid conversation about building an agency around senior talent, continuity, and long-term thinking. Andrew shares the origin story of Moosylvania, founded by his father after leaving an IPG-owned agency, and reflects on taking over leadership during the pandemic as...

Welcome to Agency Business. Brian and Olivia interview Dean Broadhead , founder of independent agency, Broadhead about how agencies should rethink production, talent, and investment as AI reshapes how work gets done. Drawing on his “stop making shoes” framework, Dean explains why agencies should focus less on long-tail production and more on strategy, creativity, and risk mitigation, using AI to c...

Welcome to Agency Business. Brian interviews Ammunition CEO Jeremy Heilpern to examine how agencies can defend pricing and articulate value as AI reshapes workflows, timelines and client expectations. Drawing on Ammunition’s growth from a category-focused shop into an independent agency with a broad client roster, Jeremy explains why specialization, internal production and deliberate investment de...

Welcome to Agency Business. Brian and Olivia discuss 2026 agency trends with media and tech analyst Ian Whittaker . Drawing on his background in financial markets and consulting, Ian frames 2026 as a crossroads year for agencies, one defined less by immediate disruption than by a series of strategic choices that will determine longer-term positioning. The conversation explores whether agencies can...

Welcome to Agency Business. Mollie Rosen , president of member experience at the 4As, joins Olivia and Brian this week to unpack the 4As' 2026 Look Ahead report and what it signals about the future of agencies. Agencies face two divergent but overlapping paths, according to Mollie. They can 1. Become platform- and technology-led or 2. Double down on creativity and strategic partnership. We explore...

This week Brian talks with Amanda Forgione, CEO of Morrison. We talk about many of the very human elements of running an independent agency with family roots in the industry, and contrast some of her agency's choices with those of the holding companies. The episode also features a brief mention of Olivia's new subscription PR model offering agencies a weekly hour of senior strategic thinking. For...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, Olivia and Brian talk with Steve and Robin Boehler of Mercer Island Group as the industry absorbs one of the most disruptive weeks in recent holding company history. The Bowlers break down Omnicom’s restructuring, including the abrupt shuttering of several legacy creative agencies, and explain why decades of diluted positioning left many large networks vulner...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, Olivia and Brian talk with Tombras president Dooley Tombras , who leads one of the industry’s few scaled, family-owned independent agencies. Dooley explains why Tombras built its full-service model by zigging against industry convention, how independence enables long-term investment in AI and first-party data, and why today’s consolidation cycle is pushing to...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, Olivia and Brian sit down with consultant and author Michael Farmer , who has spent three decades diagnosing the economic pressures inside agencies. Farmer explains why agencies still struggle to measure work, how rework distorts staffing needs, and how digital and social accelerated the long-running pattern of falling fees and rising workloads. He also outli...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, Olivia and Brian record in person for the first time with Doug Zanger , founder of Indie Agency News , a growing platform built to help independent agencies increase visibility and confidence. A former radio producer and trade journalist, Doug shares how his background shaped the creation of Indie Agency News, which is now more than 300 members strong. Doug e...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, Olivia and Brian interview Josh Rosenberg , co-founder and CEO of Day One Agency , the creative shop founded 11 years ago to bridge the gap between earned media and brand storytelling. With offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland, Day One works with clients including American Express, Chipotle, Nike, Converse, and e.l.f. Beauty. Josh shares ho...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, Brian interviews Mark Sherman , founder of Media Experts , Canada's largest independent media agency prior to its sale to Interpublic. Mark provides a wide range of perspectives on independent media agencies, how to make the most of selling an agency and how to make the most of buying one, too. Subscribe to the Agency Business newsletter for episode notes and...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, Olivia and Brian interview Paul Venables , founder and chairman of Venables Bell & Partners , the independent San Francisco agency known for its work with Audi, Chipotle, and Intel. Paul shares how “doing right by people” became both a cultural mantra and a competitive business strategy that’s guided VB&P’s decisions for nearly 25 years of independenc...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, Olivia and Brian interview Robin Bonn , founder of Co:definery and host of The Immortal Life of Agencies . Robin advises agency leaders on positioning, growth strategy, and differentiation to help them define what makes their business truly distinct in a changing market. Robin explains why so many agencies confuse positioning with packaging, how differentiati...

Welcome to Agency Business. Olivia and Brian interview Andrew Graff , CEO of Boston-based independent agency Allen & Gerritsen (A&G). Under Andrew’s leadership, A&G has built a behavioral-science approach to creativity, focused on what drives human decision-making. Andrew explains why curiosity is essential to leadership, and why he calls himself a “chief executive intern.” He discusse...

Welcome to Agency Business. Olivia and Brian interview Rachel Huff , founder of Victoire & Co. and a leading agency search consultant. Rachel works with CMOs and brand leaders to run agency reviews and has a clear view of what clients actually value when choosing partners. She explains how brand marketers approach agency search and compensation models, and why many are leaning toward specialis...

On this episode of Agency Business, Olivia and Brian interview Luz Corona , editor of Campaign US. Luz leads coverage of advertising agencies across the U.S., shaping how the industry understands shifts in creativity, media, and marketing. She explains how Campaign US covers the ad agency beat with depth and context, including its signature “100 days” follow-ups on leadership appointments. Luz out...

This week on Agency Business, Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser speak with Geoff Northcott , CEO of AKQA in EMEA. Geoff's been there 18 years, building a career at the intersection of creativity and technology. From launching Nike+ campaigns to opening offices around the world, his path reflects AKQA’s dual commitment to craft and innovation. Now leading one of AKQA’s three global P&Ls, Geoff des...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, James Dale , CEO and founder of Sine Group and Sine Digital , joins Olivia on the show. Dale’s path into agency life was anything but conventional. A former musician whose band once played at Glastonbury and toured with Band of Horses, he saw his career collapse when streaming upended the music business and data slipped away from artists. That experience led...

Welcome to Agency Business. This week, Pedro Lerma , CEO and founder of LERMA/ joins us on the show. Pedro shares his unconventional career journey—from selling radio spots in Wichita Falls to spending 23 years at The Richards Group, where he built both its digital practice and its Hispanic marketing arm, Richards/Lerma. He explains how that experience laid the foundation for launching LERMA/ as a...