Special Sauce

Seb Tomich has helped redefine how legacy media evolves for the digital era. After early hustles selling Patagonia jackets in Boulder and sunglasses in New York, he found his footing at Forbes under the mentorship of Meredith Kopit Levien — who would later bring him to The New York Times, where he spent more than a decade driving digital transformation, building T Brand Studio, and shaping the company’s pivot from print to digital.Now as Chief Commercial Officer of The Athletic, Seb is leading the next evolution of sports media. He joins Jordan to talk about the lessons he has learned from Meredith, the long game of the Sulzberger family, and why brand endurance may be the ultimate advantage in a fleeting digital world. Seb also shares his unlikely blessing from the Dalai Lama, living in an RV in Jersey City, his transition into fatherhood, and the joy of building something that truly lasts.

Jacki Kelley’s career spans the full breadth of modern media — from the circulation department at USA Today to leadership roles at Yahoo, Martha Stewart, Bloomberg, Dentsu, and now Interpublic Group. Raised on a Colorado ranch, she learned early the values of discipline, empathy, and hard work that would define her approach to business and life.Jacki joins the podcast to talk about what it means to “become a beginner again,” the mentors who shaped her path, and her belief that “the quality of our relationships remains the most valued measure of our success.” She shares lessons from leaders like Wenda Harris-Millard, Martha Stewart, and Michael Bloomberg, and explains the “balcony to basement” leadership philosophy that guides how she manages both big vision and small details. Jacki also opens up about her family’s experience fostering more than 25 children — and how that journey has deepened her sense of purpose and perspective.

Rob Norman has spent decades helping to define the modern media industry. Starting as a media assistant in London, he rose to lead GroupM North America and later, as it's Global Chief Digital Officer, he traveled the world helping clients drive innovation during the rise of social, mobile and auction-based media. All along the way, he has helped shape the careers of many of today's industry leaders.Rob joins the podcast to talk about the genesis of holding companies and the difference between power and influence. He and Jordan discuss Rob's approach to mentoring, the satisfaction of being useful, his near-perfect New York Times Spelling Bee streak, and how a trip to Shea Stadium in 1986 turned him into a lifelong (and long-suffering) Mets fan. Jordan also asks Rob a burning question regarding his own career that he's been wondering about for amost 10 years.

Abbey Klaassen is the Global Brand President at Dentsu Creative, where she leads thousands of creative professionals around the world. Earlier in her career, she was at Advertising Age, where she rose from reporter to editor and associate publisher, before making the leap to the agency side at 360i.Abbey joins the podcast to talk about the risks of leaving journalism for advertising, what she learned from running new business pitches, which jobs she thinks she was not ready for when she got them, and why she believes AI can expand creativity as opposed to diminishing it. She and Jordan also discuss Abbey's Midwestern roots, her balance of right and left brain thinking, the value of being a "utility player," and the power of being a part of professional groups (Go French Bulldogs!).

Penry Price is a media and technology leader whose career has spanned publishing, ad tech, and some of the world’s most influential platforms. He’s held leadership roles at Rolling Stone, Us Weekly, Google, and LinkedIn, where he served as VP of Marketing Solutions for nearly a decade.Penry joins the podcast to talk about growing up in a Mad Men household, his family’s 800-person reunion, and what it was like to help Google and LinkedIn build multi-billion dollar ad businesses.He and Jordan discuss the influences of Tim Armstrong, Jeff Weiner and Satya Nadella, the question that a successful sales leader might have working at a major platform ("Is it me, or the brand?"), the rules he made for himself as the creator of his LinkedIn walk-and-talk videos, and the grand gesture he made to people in his life on the occasion of his 50th birthday.

Sarah Personette is a media industry leader who has worked at some of the most well known media brands over time: Facebook, Twitter, Starcom, Universal McCann and Refinery29.She is now the CEO at Puck, the media company covering the intersecting worlds of Silicon Valley, Hollywood, Washington and Wall Street.Sarah joins the podcast to talk about her bold career ambitions growing up, how agencies provide the opportunity to emerging talent to lead teams at a young age, and what UM saw in her to make her their U.S. President when she was just 33 years old. She and Jordan discuss the difference between working at Facebook and Twitter, her background as an opera singer, and why being known for both toughness and kindness is important to her.

Lee Brown has been the Global Head of Advertising at Spotify for the last 5 years. Before that, he held senior revenue positions at Buzzfeed, Tumblr, Groupon, and Yahoo! He's been a leader at the largest digital properties, companies innovating in commerce and culture, and has done so with an energy and curiosity that's hard to match. Lee joins the podcast to talk about growing up in Kentucky, the experience of being the youngest child, the oldest child, and an only child — all in the space of one lifetime (it's true!), and his need to make a career pivot at just 23 years old.He shares his Dad's philosophy on 'working the hardest, even if you're not the smartest,' the aggressiveness it took to land accounts early in his career and how he is inherently motivated by risk. Lee and Jordan discuss Lee's ability to merchandise a business through experiences and aesthetics, and the power - and comfort - of having a strong network in business.A note to listeners, this conversation with Lee will be the the last episode until just after Labor Day. We'll be back then with fresh sauce."

Gurman Hundal leads MiQ, a programmatic media company that is beloved in the ad tech industry by its clients and partners. He started MiQ with his partner Lee Puri 15 years ago and the pair have since grown the business to 1,500 employees around the world.Gurman joins the podcast to talk about why he believes in operating with a long-term mindset, the reason he never took venture capital, the philosophy of "sell or be sold" that helps him and Lee make big decisions, and why he has no desire to ever have "an exit."He and Jordan discuss how to make big bets in an industry that is always evolving, including the company's recent roll out of new AI technology that MiQ believes will change programmatic media.

Robert Mads Anderson is one of the most accomplished mountaineers of his generation and has balanced those pursuits with a multi-decade run working at advertising agencies around the world. He joins the podcast to discuss the characteristics that climbers have in common, what he learned from experiencing tragedy early in his career, what it's like to stand on the summits of the highest peaks in the world, and why climbing Mount Everest is not the same as it used to be. Robert and Jordan talk about how he has carved out professional balance between his dual professions of advertising and climbing, and what the similarities are between leading expeditions and managing people. During their discussion, they reference a video of Robert leading clients up Mount Kilimanjaro last summer. That video can be found here: https://youtu.be/PhCEOy-jX6k.

Joy Robins has been working in the news business for almost 20 years. In her most recent 3 jobs, she has led the ad revenue teams at Quartz, The Washington Post and The New York Times. She joins the podcast to talk about what happens on the business side of a news org when a global news story breaks, the impact of technology on generations of news readers, and the people who have influenced her career. She and Jordan also discuss a moment that she'll never forget from the start of the invasion of Ukraine, growing up a few towns away from each other in New Jersey, and why it might (or might not) be appropriate to hang out in the parking lot of diners.

Jill Kelly has worked exclusively in advertising agencies for almost 30 years. First as a media buyer, famously as a successful Comms leader, and ultimately as an agency CEO over the last 3 years. She joins the podcast to talk about the inspiring story of her early childhood, the lessons she learned from her mom (spoiler alert: when you encounter challenges "don't get through it, go through it"), and what she learned from her bosses along the way. Jill and Jordan also discuss why Jill chooses the roles that she does, why she loves working at agencies, and her intensely competitive pumpkin carving habit.

Matt Derella is the VP of Marketing Solutions at LinkedIn, the team focused on serving the advertising industry. Prior to his current role, Matt spent many years at other major global platforms including Google and Twitter, where he rose to the job of Chief Customer Officer. He joins the podcast to talk about what he got out of his English education at Georgetown, the role he had at Google and why he left, and what made Twitter such a special place to work. He and Jordan also discuss why Matt is creating more online content these days, how he and his wife balance being working parents, and they talk about Bruce Springsteen. Listeners: when there's a Bruce connection, you can sleep easy (or not) knowing the topic will get air time.

Jack Myers is an author, consultant and content creator, who has been a steady presence in the media industry for 50 years. Having started out working at big media companies in outdoor, radio and cable in the 1970s, he ultimately struck out on his own in the mid-80s when he launched MediaVillage and The Myers Report. He joins the podcast to talk about why he made that move, and both the positives and challenges to being an innovative thinker with the ability to see around corners (it's not all upside!). Jack and Jordan discuss the premises of Jack's two most recent books and the impact those subjects are having on the order of society today. He also shares a story that led to him being more careful with what he packs in his suitcase when traveling overseas.

Suzie Reider might be the OGest of the Digital OGs. Her career took off in the pre-Internet era of the tech publishing world, bridged to early new media when she joined a then 30-person YouTube operation, and continues today as she builds out the media business at Lyft. Suzie joins the podcast to talk about the moment YouTube took off and those early days of digital video. She and Jordan discuss the importance making career connections, what draws her to businesses in the process of being built, the value that people with 30+ years of experience bring to their work, and a shared chance encounter they had with a rock 'n' roll legend.

Rich Lehrfeld is the General Manager at Walmart Connect, the company's advertising platform that helps brands reach shoppers online and in stores. Prior to Walmart, he spent 23 years at American Express in roles with increasing levels of influence and responsibility. Rich joins the podcast to talk about his time at both companies, how he looks at driving innovation inside (really) big organizations, and the influence that his colleagues and leadership has had on his approach...and his career. He and Jordan discuss some of the projects they have worked on together, the influence of former Amex CMO John Hayes, and Rich's philosophy on getting other leaders in big organizations to care about their shared ambitions.

Lisa Sherman is the CEO at The Ad Council, the organization that brings together the best minds in advertising and media to create public service campaigns addressing the biggest challenges facing our society. She joins the podcast to talk about how she came to be in her role and how the work of the Ad Council has changed in the decade since. Lisa shares her coming out story in corporate America and how that experience changed her, as well as the policies of the company she had just left. She and Jordan also talk about her upcoming induction into the Advertising Hall of Fame and her career reflections that are inspired by this moment.

Jeremi Gorman loves to be "at the beginning" of things. She helped plant the seeds and grow the ad businesses of both Amazon and Netflix. The former was in its very early days when she arrived and is now the 3rd largest media company in the world. The latter is still in its relative infancy, but won't be for long. She joins Special Sauce to share the reason she moved from marketing to sales early in her career (it's not what you might think), the challenges that come along with being a woman in board rooms, and what drives her to continue working in the industry. Jeremi and Jordan talk about how her Snap role came about (crazy story), why she invests in women's pro sports franchises and how she's going back to the beginning to help build the ad business at Fanatics.

Ryan Barwick is a journalist covering media and advertising. He is a rising star on the beat. In just the last year, he has reported on Lina Khan and the FTC, the Google antitrust proceedings and how the ad business is using AI. Ryan joins Special Sauce to talk about how he got up-to-speed on the industry, how reporters view other reporters, and to share some advice for Comms people. He and Jordan talk about what it's like to break a story, the difference between perspective and bias, and how Clark Kent came to become his internet avatar.

With the Los Angeles wildfires still raging, we're using this episode to share a brief story about our next guest and suggest a worthy cause in need of donations. That cause is the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, which is raising money to buy emergency fire shelters, hydration backpacks and wildland brush tools to support firefighters on the ground. As these current fires get contained, new ones will surely follow — and this cause is meant to help today and tomorrow. If you have the means and the desire to help out, please visit supportlafd.org/give or text LAFD to 24365. We'll be back with our next episode shortly.

Eric Berry has been a founder of companies in two disruptive categories: advertising technology and healthcare technology. He started TripleLift, the ad tech company he eventually sold for $1.4B, when he had just two years of industry experience. Eric joins Jordan to talk about why he moved from law to advertising, how the intuition of a founder is critical early on in the life of a company, and the importance of building the pipes of a company in order to make it successful. He tells a Dad joke to kick things off and ends by revealing who he thinks is the best texter on their group chat.