Genuin Connections

Recorded live at the 2026 Cannes Lions, Genuin Connections host Matt Wurst sits down with Brian Kaminsky, Chief Operating Officer at Infillion, for a sharp, no-hype conversation about where advertising is actually headed. Brian has spent 20+ years scaling media businesses, from HuffPost and Reuters to more than a decade inside iHeart's ad tech world. In this episode he breaks down the shift from p...

Recorded live at POSSIBLE 2026 in the Genuin Suite at the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, this special episode of Genuin Connections brings together two leaders at the center of where media, commerce, and AI are converging: Ashan Khan, Head of Global Agency Partnerships at Uber Advertising, and Scott Hendrickson, Chief Revenue Officer at Firmly. Host Matt Wurst, CMO of Genuin, leads a conversation t...

What does it take to build a global storytelling brand from a YouTube channel? Sean Atkins, CEO of Dhar Mann Studios, has spent 20+ years following consumer behavior to its next destination — from cable to the early internet to streaming to the creator economy. Now he's running the largest scripted digital creator operation in the world, reaching 160 million followers and 300 million views every w...

What if advertising could actually do something good — and perform better because of it? Chad Hickey, CEO and Co-Founder of Givsly, spent nearly two decades building revenue teams at some of ad tech's most data-driven companies. Then he asked a question the industry tends to avoid: what if media dollars could reflect what people actually believe? That question became Givsly — a values-based advert...

What if advertising could actually do something good — and perform better because of it? Chad Hickey, CEO and Co-Founder of Givsly, spent nearly two decades building revenue teams at some of ad tech's most data-driven companies. Then he asked a question the industry tends to avoid: what if media dollars could reflect what people actually believe? That question became Givsly — a values-based advert...

How is AI reshaping the future of marketing, advertising, and consumer decision-making? And what happens when discovery, research, and purchase all happen in a single conversation? In this episode of Genuin Connections, host Matt Wurst (CMO, Genuin) sits down with Debra Aho Williamson, Founder and Chief Analyst at Sonata Insights and former eMarketer analyst of 20 years, to unpack the rapid rise o...

How is AI reshaping the future of marketing, advertising, and consumer decision-making? And what happens when discovery, research, and purchase all happen in a single conversation? In this episode of Genuin Connections, host Matt Wurst (CMO, Genuin) sits down with Debra Aho Williamson, Founder and Chief Analyst at Sonata Insights and former eMarketer analyst of 20 years, to unpack the rapid rise o...

Recorded live at the Genuin-hosted Happy Hour during CES 2026 in Las Vegas, this Genuin Connections Q&A features Andy Wilson, EVP of Business Development and Commerce at McClatchy Media, in a candid conversation about the future of publishers, video, and community. Andy shares how McClatchy is rethinking engagement through vertical video, empowering editors to be front-facing, partnering with...

In this episode of Genuin Connections, host Matt Wurst sits down with Will Cohen, CEO and co-founder of Downtime. Will shares his journey from helping build Triad Retail Media into a retail media powerhouse to launching a startup focused on a simple but powerful idea: if consumers are going to engage with branded content, they should get something meaningful in return. The conversation explores wh...

Meet Matty Beckerman, CEO and Founder of IRCODE, and learn about how computer vision and AI are transforming the way people interact with the visual world. Beckerman explains how IRCode turns any image — from a billboard to a TV commercial to a piece of art — into a scannable, interactive experience, without QR codes or tags. The image is the code. They discuss how this breakthrough technology sta...

In this episode of Genuin Connections, host Matt Wurst sits down with Eric Sheinkop, CEO of The Desire Company, to explore the future of retail and commerce media. From working with Beyoncé’s team to building the world’s largest community of cross-disciplinary experts, Eric shares how authentic, expert-led content creates trust, boosts purchase confidence, and drives conversion. The conversation d...

Franklyn West founder & CEO Ashley Miles joins Genuin CMO Matt Wurst for a high-energy conversation on leadership, growth, and building modern communities that last. From scaling a retail media network to $1B in revenue, to reimagining how brands use AI, Ashley shares actionable insights for product leads, growth strategists, and marketers navigating today’s fast-moving business landscape. Key...

What happens when you mix community-driven strategy, creative agility, and a cold beer? You get Dana Hork. 🍻 In this episode of Genuin Connections, host Matt Wurst sits down with Dana Hork, founder and CEO of Beers with Friends, to talk about building brands that actually connect. From leading social at Walmart to launching a new kind of creative agency, Dana has consistently delivered big ideas...

What happens when one of the world’s most iconic storytelling brands reimagines how ideas are discovered, shared, and scaled? In this episode of Genuin Connections, Tricia Maia, Head of Product at TED and the visionary behind TED Shorts, joins us to discuss how TED is evolving in the age of short attention spans, AI, and community-powered content. From embracing new content formats and social vide...

In this episode of Genuin Connections, Genuin CMO Matt Wurst sits down with Jennifer Kattula, GM and CMO of Microsoft Advertising, for a wide-ranging conversation about the intersection of AI, creativity, responsible leadership, and customer-driven growth. Jennifer pulls back the curtain on how Microsoft is embedding conversational AI into its products, using internal AI hackathons to unlock workf...

In this episode of Genuin Connections, Genuin CMO Matt Wurst sits down with Jennifer Kattula, GM and CMO of Microsoft Advertising, for a wide-ranging conversation about the intersection of AI, creativity, responsible leadership, and customer-driven growth. Jennifer pulls back the curtain on how Microsoft is embedding conversational AI into its products, using internal AI hackathons to unlock workf...

In this episode of Genuin Connections, Matt Wurst sits down with Ruth Yomtoubian, VP of Global Innovation at VSP Vision, for a powerful and practical conversation on what it really takes to drive innovation at scale. From building cross-functional AI strategies to empowering providers and shifting outdated “build-it-here” mindsets, Ruth shares how she’s helping transform one of the most establishe...

Brands talk about community, but are they truly building one? In the latest episode of Genuin Connections, Genuin CMO Matt Wurst sits down with David Teicher, Co-founder & CEO of Qru, to explore what brands get wrong about community-building—and how to do it right. Key takeaways: 🔹 Niche, engaged communities drive deeper impact than mass reach 🔹 Loyal customers are often overlooked in favor...

What makes a story truly impactful? In the latest episode of Genuin Connections, we sit down with Marcelo Bukin—filmmaker, storyteller, and global adventurer—to explore the essence of human connection, purpose, and storytelling that resonates. 📌 Key Takeaways: - Why human connection is the foundation of great storytelling - How authenticity attracts the right audience - The 4 branding essentials...

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Genuin Connections, a video podcast series where we dive deep into the minds of marketing and media thought leaders shaping the future. In this debut episode, Matt Wurst sits down with Marc Scarpa, founder and CEO of DeFiance Media, to explore the intersection of storytelling, technology, and community. Marc shares his trailblazing journey in participatory media...

Video conversations with our community of brand marketers, innovators, creators, media mavens, and commerce-minded thought leaders.