Yes, he is in fact a “lord”. But that is a whole conversation for another time.

Lord Matthew Scheckner is the Global CEO of Advertising Week, a platform where businesses and brands are discussing what he calls society’s “real issues” in a collective of conferences, seminars, special events and live entertainment in New York City, Mexico City, London, Tokyo, Sydney and Johannesburg.

But prior to bringing together international professionals for Advertising Week, Matt fostered an entrepreneurial drive and work ethic that spanned from washing dishes, to the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and starting an his first agency during the emergence of sports marketing.

If you’re looking for inspiration, advice and wisdom from a master networker who has created a global community, bringing together many tens-of-thousands to congregate internationally, this is a conversation you’ll want to listen carefully. 

In this conversation, we discuss Matt’s super interesting career trajectory to Advertising Week, the surprising reason he focused on advertising, his thoughts on corporate responsibility around data & privacy issues, the importance of opportunities to connect on a human level with other people, and how Advertising Week has become a platform for business and social impact.

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Click here to listen on Spotify

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

Recognitions:

• Global CEO of Advertising Week

• Founder of Stillwell Partners

• Graduate of Emory University

 

Topics discussed in this conversation include:

• 6 countries, heading into 16 years in NY

• Graduating from Emory in 1986 as a professional breeding ground

• Originally planning to be a lawyer

• First jobs delivering the Penny Saver (for a literal penny!), the New York Post, working at bagel shops and delis, and many other odd jobs

• Interning at the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce in the 80’s

• The emergence of “sports marketing” and treating sports as economic development

• “The Commission on the Year 2000” – Matt’s first job out of college, under NYC’s Mayor Koch

• Maximizing utilization of the waterfront

• Tax implications of the Meadowlands

• Becoming the first Executive Director of the New York City Sports Commission at age 23

• Winning the 1998 Good Will Games

• Building the olympic sized pool in Eisenhower Park

• The downfall of these programs with Mayor Giuliani

• Matt’s first business venture in sports marketing

• Dabbling in a multitude of projects

• DDB

• 4 A’s – The American Association of Advertising Agencies

• The ideation for Advertising Week

• Matt’s business model

• Radio City events

• A secret apartment in Radio City, The Roxy Suite

• Proposing the first Advertising Week event to Mayor Bloomberg in 2004

• The first opening gala at Gracie Mansion

• Seed money

• 4A’s, Omnicom, IPG, Publicis, Havas, WPP

• Changing from non-profit to for-profit

• Matt’s partner, Lance Pillersdorf

• Expanding to London, Tokyo, Mexico City, Johannesburg, to a global network

• Year-round content business

• Why Advertising?

• The importance of exclusive locations for AW’s special events

• Highlighting the social and experiential part of life

• How to grow an international network around the globe

• Getting quoted in The Wall Street Journal

• Matt’s motivation and drive

• The challenge to create authenticity in each international location

• Leveraging the AW platform to talk about important “real issues”

• Emma Stone on mental health and wellness

• Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue and the United States Surgeon General discussing the opiod crisis

• D&AD Impact Awards

• Cannes Lions

• Social Impact topics: Health & Wellness, Diversity & Inclusion, Sustainability, Responsible Production

• Matt’s perspective on how social impact is emerging in businesses

• Unilever and sustainability

• Brands that are doing good are good for business

• Corporate responsibility around advertising and over-consumption of media

• Data and privacy issues

• How Matt measures success for himself and his business

• Valuable advice for entrepreneurs

Bio:

Matt Scheckner is CEO of Stillwell Partners, a New York City based boutique consultancy. Stillwell is best known as the producer of Advertising Week, the world’s largest advertising / marketing / media industry summit.  The Week is conducted in New York City, London, Tokyo, Sydney and Mexico City and launches in Africa in 2019. Under Scheckner’s leadership, which dates back to 2004, the B2B event has evolved into a vibrant, global tent-pole event and is the world’s pre-eminent annual platform uniting the ad tech, brand/client, creative, marketing and media communities. Scheckner’s signature recipe of blending thought leadership with one-of-a-kind evening experiences for the entire industry ecosystem propels Advertising Week. The annual festival-style event is now in year fifteen (15) in the USA, going into year seven (7) in Europe, year three (3) in Tokyo and just a few months ago launched successfully in Mexico City and Sydney. Planning is well underway to launch in Africa in 2019 and Advertising Week’s related year-