Great Minds

In addition to his work with a diverse roster of entertainers ranging from Tony Bennett and k.d. lang to Bruce Springsteen and Barbra Streisand, Micone was also an original producer of such landmark events as Billy Crystal’s smash Broadway hit “700 Sundays,” the North American debut of Riverdance at Radio City Music Hall and an unprecedented six Super Bowl half-time shows. In his earlier career as...

Steven Van Zandt is an American singer, songwriter, musician, producer, actor, and activist. He is best known as a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He is also known for his roles on television drama series, such as Silvio Dante on The Sopranos (1999–2007).

Chris was promoted to Global President, Advertising & Allied Agencies of McCann Worldgroup in 2018. Chris has a track record of developing effective and lauded communications in virtually every marketing category and for many of the world’s most famous brands.

Chris Hirst is Global CEO for Havas Creative Network, a multi-disciplinary marketing services network. He was previously CEO at advertising agency Grey London. Once an engineering graduate working in a glass factory, his career path has taken him to the boardroom via Harvard Business School and Oxford University.

If Paul were here talking with you right now, he would surely point out that the agency’s big, sweeping, trademark-able philosophy has nothing to do with buzz generation, media agnosticism or content creation, but is simply “our intentions are good.” Those good intentions – doing right by its clients and people – have helped Paul and his partners attract about 180 of the nicest, most talented peop...

Richard Edelman is the CEO of Edelman, a global communications firm and is on Great Minds with returning guest Claudia Romo Edelman, a Mexican-Swiss diplomat who is a Special Adviser at the United Nations and the We Are All Human Foundation, whose mission is to advance an agenda of equity, inclusion and representation. They also happen to be husband and wife.

Mike Ruiz is a Canadian photographer, director, television personality, former model, spokesperson, creative director, and actor.

Ken Sunshine is an American public relations consultant, co-CEO and founder of Sunshine Sachs Consultants. He began his career in New York City politics, including serving as chief of staff for Mayor David Dinkins

Paul Woolmington has held leadership positions at the highest levels both globally and domestically in management, media, integrated business, brand, digital and communications strategy at holding companies including IPG, Y&R Inc, WPP and MDC Partners. He co-founded Naked Communications Americas, founded The Media Kitchen, and was named one of the ten most creative/innovative people in marketi...

Fiona Carter was the Chief Brand Officer of AT&T, and is now CMO at Goldman Sachs. We spoke about the British ads that inspired her career, her extremely old Oxford College and the strategy behind shaping the AT&T’s covid crisis response.

Manisha Tank is an award winning Journalist with more than 18 years of experience in the industry.  For the last 8 years she has worked with CNN International in both Hong Kong and London, covering global and business news as an Anchor & Correspondent. 

Blake Ross is the former longtime Editor in Chief of Playbill. She served as content coordinator across all mediums for Playbill — online, print and mobile — as well as managed all new media development. During the pandemic, Blake set up a charitable organization called The Kindness of Strangers, where she connects people’s skills with those who need it most. Volunteer your time and sign up at www...

The Mandela Institute for Humanity and National Urban League invite you to A Town Hall for Change – as an esteemed group discussing the global need for new frameworks and new thinking around systemic racism.

Susan Smith Ellis was the CEO of (RED), a global marketing company whose partnerships help combat the AIDS pandemic in Africa. She helped produce one of the largest grossing contemporary art auction in, which raised more than $42 million for (RED). Prior to joining (RED), Ms. Smith Ellis served as an Officer and Executive Vice President of the Omnicom Group of Companies ( www.omnicomgroup.com ), t...

Advertising Age has referred to Keith Reinhard as the advertising industry’s “soft-spoken visionary” and in 1999 named him one of the top 100 influentials in advertising history. He is Chairman Emeritus of DDB Worldwide. As a working creative director, Keith was responsible for McDonald’s “You Deserve a Break Today.” Teams under Keith’s direction created award-winning campaigns for Anheuser-Busch,...

The CEO of Republicom Group Tunji Adeyinka discusses growing marketing firms like Connect Marketing Services, Image & Time, Integral, Quore Media, and Neukleos, as well as bringing Advertising Week Africa to South Africa.

Maria Bartiromo has been a pioneer in financial news television. In 1995, she became the first journalist to report live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on a daily basis. She is host of Mornings with Maria and Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street. She worked at CNN for five years before joining CNBC, where she worked for 20 years. In 2013, she joined Fox Business and Fox News, and she’s als...

Currently, Alvin Bowles holds the position of Vice-President-Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook. He leads Facebook’s audience networking department. It is the technology that makes advertisements more viable for small business owners and directs them toward the proper audience.

Michael Ventura is the CEO and founder of Sub Rosa, a strategy and design firm that has worked with some of the world’s largest and most important brands—from Johnson & Johnson, Pantone, and Adobe, to the TED Conference, Delta Airlines, and The Daily Show.

Ambassador Ido Aharoni serves as a global distinguished professor at New York University’s Program of International Relations in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Ambassador Aharoni is a 25-year veteran of Israel’s Foreign service, a public diplomacy specialist, founder of the Brand Israel program, and a well-known nation branding practitioner. Ambassador Aharoni, who served as Israel’s longest-se...

Jeff was the guy who originally wrote “got milk?”. He is among the co-founders and serves as co-chair of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco. Goodby is also a director and illustrator whose work has appeared in Time and Mother Jones.

Mathew Knowles is an American record executive, talent manager, and businessman. He is best known for being the manager of Destiny’s Child. He also managed the solo careers of his daughters Beyoncé and Solange Knowles.

Guru Gowrappan is CEO of Verizon Media, a powerhouse of trusted media and technology brands, including Yahoo, HuffPost, and TechCrunch. Prior to this role, he was Global Managing Director of Alibaba where he focused on international expansion and e-commerce for key consumer and enterprise products

Betches is a digital media company started by Aleen Kuperman, Jordana Abraham, and Samantha Fishbein. Originally started as a website, the company now includes a webpage, social media accounts, podcast, a national comedy tour, merchandise, and three best-selling books. 

Patricia has over 20 years’ experience in consumer goods, she was previously Heineken’s CMO/SVP in Mexico and is now CMO of Bayer, based in Switzerland. Prior she was Marketing Vice President and board member for Unilever’s UK & Ireland business. During lockdown she is attempting to learn to play the ukulele.