Breaking Through The Mayhem

Ben Lambert sits down with entertainment marketing veteran Scott Bishoff to explore what decades across agencies, brands, publishers, and entertainment have taught him about media, leadership, and where AI fits into the future of marketing. Scott shares why curiosity remains the industry's most valuable skill, how automation should free people to think-not replace strategic thinking-and why entert...

In this conversation, Brittany Clauss, Director, Brand Marketing & Media Strategy, United Airlines, shares how she balances brand building with revenue accountability inside one of the world’s most complex enterprises. From agency roots to leading media strategy within corporate communications, she unpacks how United connects long term platform thinking with performance goals, navigates volati...

Adam Katz sits down with Susu Grace, Co-Founder and Head of Experience Partnerships, for a candid conversation on how Givsly builds emotion driven experiences that strengthen partnerships and unlock measurable growth. From redirecting sales and marketing budgets into community impact to designing events people actually remember, Susu shares why values and revenue move together in today’s media eco...

In a candid conversation with a longtime industry peer, SVP Group Media Director at Mediahub Worldwide Ziggy Prieto shares how he navigates multi vertical portfolios, challenges every buy, and keeps teams focused on what actually drives impact. From persona driven audience thinking to closed loop measurement and a blunt take on frequency, this is how Ziggy evaluates partners, platforms, and perfor...

Adam Katz sits down with Paige Walker, Manager, Cultural Intelligence and Trends at The Hershey Company, for a candid conversation about her path from journalism to leading social listening and cultural intelligence inside a global CPG organization. Paige shares how her role evolved from consumer relations to becoming the in-house SME for social intelligence, how she partners with brand and insigh...

Adam sits down with Domenic Venuto, Chief Product and Data Officer at Horizon Media, to unpack how a career across agencies, publishers, ad tech, and finance shaped his approach to product, data, and transformation. Domenic explains why Horizon’s independent culture and human-first leadership pulled him back to agency life—and how the Blu Platform is using AI to democratize data, accelerate strate...

A candid conversation with Christina Goswiller, Head of Social Transformation at Digitas, on how social earned a seat at the table, how she navigates that role, and what it looks like inside real agency environments today. Highlights: How Christina’s career path shaped how she operates today Why social earned more influence inside agencies over time What surprised Adam about her background and min...

A conversation with Michele Donati, EVP, Chief of Futures of Horizon, on why Horizon is betting on an open ecosystem—Horizon OS and its labs—to bring best-in-class partners together, accelerate innovation, and drive smarter media investment across the full planning-to-optimization workflow. Highlights: Horizon OS decoded: why “open beats closed” for speed, flexibility, and partner-powered innovati...

Adam sits down with Elijah Harris, EVP Investment Strategy at Omnicom Media, to unpack how senior investment leaders actually think—how long-tail partner ecosystems get built, what keeps investment moving despite shifting industry narratives, and why multicultural audiences remain one of the most resilient growth engines even as public ESG and DEI messaging evolves. It’s also a rare chance to get...

CTV performs best when ads align with the moment, not just the screen. As content intelligence and AI mature, contextual precision becomes the real growth lever. This episode unpacks how deeper content signals, better measurement, and scene-level alignment are shaping the future of CTV. Key takeaways: Why contextual relevance outperforms blunt reach How IRIS.TV’s content ID scales CTV intelligence...

As AI accelerates change across advertising, true advantage comes from clarity, creativity, and outcome-driven decision-making. This conversation explores how modern media leaders are redefining value, empowering teams, and using technology to elevate—not replace—human strategy. Featuring insights from Jacob Davis, Global Head of Media at Crossmedia, a respected leader shaping the future of indepe...

In this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, host Adam Katz sits down with Tammy Henault, a transformational marketing leader whose career spans The New York Times, CBS/Paramount+, and the NBA—organizations that have reinvented themselves in the face of massive industry shifts. Tammy shares how she has built her career at the crossroads of media, entertainment, and sports, stepping into roles d...

In this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem live from Adweek, host Adam Katz sits down with Terrence Moduthagam, VP at Media.net, to reflect on a year of partnership, cultural alignment, and shared innovation between their companies. Terrence leads the curation business for Media.net Exchange — a nearly 2,000-person, product-led organization shaping the future of sell-side media targeting. Terr...

On this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, Adam sits down with Michelle Niblock, SVP and Client Lead at Digitas, representing Publicis and leading the McDonald’s business. Michelle dives into how McDonald’s stays culturally relevant by moving at the speed of fans—from playful real-time CRM moments (like the viral “seemingly ranch” Taylor Swift activation) to reviving nostalgia with digital-fi...

In this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, host Adam Katz sits down with Melissa Berger, Chief Solutions Officer at Digitas, for a lively and insightful conversation about leadership, innovation, and loyalty in the modern marketing era. Known simply as “Berger,” Melissa shares how her evolving role at Digitas bridges media, commerce, CRM, and creative to help brands drive meaningful growth. S...

In this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, host Adam Katz sits down with Samantha Rose, EVP of Digital & Video Investment at Horizon Media, live from Adweek. With nearly 19 years at Horizon, Sam reflects on how staying curious, collaborative, and adaptable has allowed her to grow alongside one of the industry’s most influential independent agencies. Sam shares how her career evolved from...

In this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, host Adam Katz sits down with Janet Levine, Head of Global Invention at Mindshare (WPP Media), to unpack her creative philosophy, career journey, and the groundbreaking concept she calls world building. Janet shares how her lifelong curiosity evolved into a leadership mindset that blends imagination with structure. Over her 16 years at WPP, she’s hel...

In this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, host Adam Katz sits down with Brian Albert, Managing Director at Google, to unpack his 15-year journey leading transformative initiatives at YouTube. From the platform’s early days as a desktop video site to becoming the largest CTV platform in the U.S., Brian shares how passion, team culture, and bold innovation have fueled his career. Brian dives i...

In this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, host Danielle Calciano, Senior Director of Sales at Sightly, sits down with Barbara Riley, President & CEO (and fractional CMO) of The AD Club of New England, to trace her path from Boston radio and early agency roles to leading a regional marketing community and advising brands. Barb shares how detours shaped her career—trading broadcast dreams...

In this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, host Ben Lambert sits down with Michael Dobson, Global Chief Digital Officer at AMS, to explore his career path from retail management to leading digital strategy and innovation across ten countries and three business lines. Michael reflects on the lessons learned from both client- and agency-side roles, his embrace of independent agencies, and the p...

In this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, host Ben Lambert sits down with Steve Wolf, Head of Integrated Media at Scale Marketing, to trace his two-decade journey across the media industry—from his first break at MediaVest to leading integrated planning at an independent agency. Steve shares how pivotal career moments shaped him: from cutting his teeth on Continental Airlines and Capital One...

What if the real power of data wasn’t in dashboards, but in shaping how brands grow and connect across the world? On this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, host Ben Lambert sits down with Zach Lain, Director of Global Data Partnerships at PepsiCo, to unpack how he’s helping one of the world’s biggest CPGs balance global consistency with local relevance. From rethinking CTV measurement to sca...

What if building a media company was really about building a movement? On this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, host Alena DeSalvo sits down with Jason Schulweis, Chief Commercial Officer at The Female Quotient, to talk about scaling a mission-driven brand without losing its soul. From running HBO digital campaigns at 22, to helping Morning Brew grow revenue 20x, to leading FQ’s evolution f...

The key to unlocking leadership? It might just be seeing your own potential differently. In this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, Adam Katz sits down with media leader Maureen Bosetti, Chief Investment Officer at IPG Mediabrands, for a candid conversation about resilience, reinvention, and riding the relentless waves of change in media. From her early days at GM Mediaworks to steering massi...

What if the biggest media trend is just a new label on the same old strategy? On this episode of Breaking Through the Mayhem, host Ben Lambert is joined by Liane Nadeau, Chief Investment Officer at Digitas North America, for a grounded and refreshingly honest look at how real innovation happens in media today. From local TV buys to leading investment across North America, Liane has seen every evol...