Fearless Creative Leadership

"The Humanist". Jonathan Mildenhall is the founder of 21st Century Brand, and the former CMO of AirBNB.  The launch of his new marketing practice has generated a lot of attention across the creative industries. That’s not a surprise - his reputation as a leader of rare influence precedes him. Jonathan wears his heart on his sleeve. And draws you towards him. The first time we ever spoke was a year ago when I asked him to come on this show. He not only said, yes. He gave me a way to think about Fearless that raised my own ambitions for what the show could become.  His openness during that first conversation has stayed with me. It is a characteristic you find in some of the most Fearless creative leaders. Which is why this week’s theme is Vulnerability. You’ll find more on Vulnerability on the Fearless Creative Leadership podcast website, and read more about The Power of Vulnerability here. Here's Jonathan Mildenhall.  

"The Magnetic Leader".      Paul Venables is the co-founder of Venables, Bell and Partners. A San Francisco ad agency with self described ‘good intentions.’  Last year, VB+P, was named one of Fast Company’s most innovative companies and one of the top ten companies in media and advertising. So having good intentions is clearly working for them. Which makes you wonder why more companies wouldn’t claim such apparently low hanging fruit.  After all, it’s easy to claim ‘good intentions’ as your operating principle. Easy in the sense that no one knows what’s really in your heart -as a company or as a leader - except you. Or do they? Which is why this week’s theme is Leadership Values.  You can read more about Leadership Values here.

'The Pressure Valve Leaders' Jaime Robinson and Lisa Clunie are the founders of the New York agency, Joan Creative. These two women are building a company on their terms and establishing new ways to get the best out of the people that work for them. This week's theme on Fearless is 'team-building' and you'll hear examples of how Joan brings people together - clients and employees - to unlock new possibilities.  You'll also hear why their partnership surprised them both when it started and how it has quickly evolved into a relationship that brings out the best of both of them. You can read more about team building here.

'The Sensitive Leader'.  We've added a weekly theme focus. This week we're looking at Empathy. You'll find more of our thinking on empathy here. This episode is my conversation with Alain Sylvain - the founder of Sylvain Labs - an innovation and brand design consultancy. Sylvain Labs is 8 years old and describe their tools as science and whimsy. Their client roster is diverse, from Google to Nike. From Chobani to GM.  Before starting his own company,  Alain was the managing director of Redscout and a lead strategist at Mother New York. He creates and invests in new products, works closely with HELP, a merit- and needs-based scholarship program, the Global Poverty Project and the Lower East Side Girls Club. And sits on the board of VCU’s Brandcenter. And he thinks deeply about how the work he does affects the people that make it and the people that experience it.

'The Explosion Expert'. This is my conversation with David Abraham of Wonderhood Studios in which we talk about taking calculated risks. Wonderhood is a startup - a modern media company built around a content and programming studio and a full-strength creative agency for major brands.  David’s experience comes first from the London creative agency world of CDP and Chiat / Day. And most recently from seven years running Channel Four in the UK.  

'The Servant Leaders'. In 2018, KFC was named marketer of the year. Wieden + Kennedy were named agency of the year. And their partnership produced the Campaign of the year. Their partnership is driving business results and changing culture. It’s also the embodiment of the Wieden + Kennedy philosophy that Jason Bagley and Eric Baldwin described in our podcast last year - a philosophy they describe as ‘branded everything’. George Felix and Jesse Johnson are the two people at the heart of this very modern creative partnership.

'The One-of-Many Leader'. This is my conversation with Mohan Ramaswamy - one of the partners of Work & Co.  Mohan and I recorded this conversation at the Cannes Creativity Festival in June. Work and Co is unusual because they have 14 partners - all of whom are involved in all the major decisions of the company. For a business whose reputation and success has grown rapidly, that kind of community leadership is rare.

'The Empowering Leader'. This is my conversation with Avery Baker - the Chief Brand Officer of Tommy Hilfiger. It was recorded live on stage as part of this year’s Cannes Creativity festival. Over the last two years, Avery has been instrumental in changing how Tommy Hilfiger shows up in the world. From a business that required five months to take clothes from the runway to the consumer, she led an internal and external revolution that produced a brand capable of delivering ‘see now buy now’ fashion. I wanted to talk to her about how she encouraged so many people across the organization to take the leap with her, and how she learned to push herself out of her own comfort zone in the process.

'The One-Company Leader'. I first met John Seifert in 1983. We were both working at Ogilvy & Mather in New York on the TWA business. The world was very different back then. What hasn’t changed much is John.  John and Ogilvy always seemed to fit together. You couldn’t imagine hime working anywhere else.  Thirty nine years later, he still hasn’t. Today he is the company's CEO. In an era and industry defined by upheaval, I wanted to talk to John about why he has stayed at one company for so long.

'The Son'. This conversation with Thomas Benski - the founder of Pulse Films - is the second of my interviews from the Cannes Creativity festival and was recorded in front of a live audience. Vice is an award winning modern-day content studio,  which two years ago was bought by Vice.  Thomas is charming and charismatic. He is relentlessly energized and filled with original ideas. He is engaged. Interesting. And Interested.  He is driven in large part by what happened to his family when he was growing up. So this episodes is called, “The Son.”