Agency Business

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...

Tim Nollen, a longtime ad industry sell-side analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd. and previously at J.P. Morgan and Bear Stearns, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss the state of agency holding companies, their challenges, and the sustainability of their business models. Tim explains how financial pressures, shifting client demands, and competition from consulting firms and ad tech...

Kevin Wassong, founder & CEO of marketing analytics startup mktg.ai, joins co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping creative and media, and why most marketers are struggling to keep up. Kevin explains why creative and media have been siloed for decades, how AI is accelerating the velocity of content production, and why marketers are overwhelme...

Samir Balwani, founder and CEO of media agency QRY, join co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser to discuss the evolving role of media agencies, the challenges of brand awareness investments, and how independent agencies can compete with industry giants. Samir shares thoughts on why mid-sized brands struggle with top-of-funnel marketing and how his agency bridges the gap between performance market...

Co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser sit down with Chrissie Hanson, CEO of OMD USA, to discuss the evolving role of media agencies, balancing creativity with cost efficiency, and how brands can maximize the impact of their media investments. Chrissie shares her journey from strategist to CEO, highlighting how her background in media buying and planning has shaped her leadership style. She offer...

In this episode of Agency Business , co-hosts Olivia Morley and Brian Wieser interview Ruben Schreurs, CEO of Ebiquity, to explore the evolving landscape of media investment and the role of media audits in maximizing ad spend. Ruben shares insights into how brands can ensure their media dollars are working harder, the importance of transparency in agency relationships, and why now—more than ever—m...

In this episode of Agency Business , Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley talk with Kamran Asghar, CEO and founder of Crossmedia USA, about the evolving landscape of independent media agencies. Asghar shares insights into Crossmedia’s journey, its commitment to transparency, and how independent agencies can provide an alternative to holding company networks. Key topics covered in this episode include: C...

In this episode of Agency Business, Brian and Olivia are joined by Joanne Davis, one of the industry's leading agency search consultants. Joanne founded Joanne Davis Consulting in 2000 and became a partner in SCAN International in 2006 and is currently Co-CEO. The firm specializes in agency models – internal and external, agency search/selection, agency compensation and client/agency optimization...

In this episode of Agency Business, we're joined for a fascinating conversation with independent agency FerebeeLane's co-founders to talk about working with high-end brands, broadening service offerings, global expansion and how Matt and Josh manage their business more generally. We also discuss recent industry news including the appointment of Bob Lord at Horizon, recent results at Accenture and...

In this episode of Agency Business , Brian Wieser and Olivia Morley are joined by Jay Pattisall, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, to discuss the biggest agency news of the year (and probably the decade): Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG. Wieser, Morley, and Pattisall share their insights into the implications of this deal, including: What the acquisition signals about the future of a...