The What's Next Podcast

ABOUT EPISODEOn this episode of The What's Next Podcast, Karim speaks with Donna Speciale about her background and passion for the media landscape. Donna is the President of U.S. Advertising Sales and Marketing, TelevisaUnivision.ABOUT DONNA SPECIALEAs President of U.S. Advertising Sales and Marketing at TelevisaUnivision, the world's leading Spanish-language media and content company, Donna Speciale leads advertising sales and marketing across the company's portfolio of broadcast, cable, digital, audio and live event platforms in the U.S. – including its renowned entertainment, news and sports properties as well as its ad-supported streaming service, ViX. Since joining the company in January 2021, Speciale has transformed and modernized TelevisaUnivision's U.S. ad sales business to deliver record ad revenue growth.An industry trailblazer, Speciale has extensive knowledge of sales optimization spanning over two decades. Prior to this role, she served as President of Advertising Sales at WarnerMedia where she oversaw advertising revenue for the company's domestic entertainment, news and kids multimedia brands. During her tenure, Speciale played a critical role in the groundbreaking launch of OpenAP, the first open platform for TV advertisers to reach audiences across publishers. Before WarnerMedia, she was President of Investment, Activation and Agency operations at MediaVest Worldwide, overseeing the agency's integrated digital, broadcast, print, and out-of-home practice. Speciale also held senior roles at WPP's Mediacom earlier in her career.Speciale has been recognized with numerous accolades throughout her career, including Multichannel News' “Wonder Women,” Adweek50, Variety's “New York Impact Report” and Broadcasting & Cable's Hall of Fame as well as the “Advertising Woman of the Year,” “Impact Award” and “Working Woman Award” from SheRunsIt. She received the “Reisenbach Award for Distinguished Citizenship” by the John A. Reisenbach Foundation in 2014.

On this episode of the What's Next Podcast, we speak with Shonel Morrison. Shonel is the Head of Media Strategy at AstraZeneca.ABOUT SHONEL MORRISONShonel has over 10 years of experience in the healthcare marketing industry focused on paid media strategy, planning, and buying. She has expertise in designing media enablement frameworks focused on driving growth in media investment and business impact. In her current role at AstraZeneca, she leads the Global Media Strategy practice and is responsible for creating the vision to shape the future of how AstraZeneca creates key moments with customers utilizing integrated cross-channel experiences. Visit activeinternational.com to learn more about asset solutions.

On this episode of The What's Next Podcast, we speak with Leon Clark. Leon is the VP/General Manager E.W. Scripps KGTV ABC10 - San Diego.ABOUT LEON CLARKLeon Clark is no stranger to the marketing and programing needs of the broadcast consumer. With over 25 years of management and operational experience, Leon Clark has had a strong and varied career in television, digital and radio. He has worked for some of the most prestigious and powerful media companies in the business, including ABC/Disney, EMMIS, COX, CBS, TuneIn and for the past eight and a half years, the E.W. Scripps Company as Vice President-General Manager for their ABC station first in Tucson and currently in San Diego.Visit activeinternational.com to learn more about asset solutions.

About Eddy EdwardsCreative and strategist in the Branding, Design and Advertising industry. Eddy started his career back in 1993, working in graphic design, branding and packaging, evolving into account direction and client relations before forming the central London creative agency BEAR as owner/MD in 2000. Sold 50% share in 2016. Currently 'Head of Brand' for the UK life insurance disruptor ‘DeadHappy', having joined their bonkers adventure in 2019.About Dead HappyWe exist because we believe life insurance can be done better. When we say 'better', we don't mean a new advertising campaign or a free ball-point pen. We mean real change that makes a real difference.That's why we've reinvented life insurance to be cheaper, easier and better. All designed with the customer in mind.Our life insurance is:Jargon-free – we don't believe in complicated languageFast – getting your life insured doesn't have to be a laborious process, with us you can get it done in under 3 minutesNo long forms – we only ask you 4 questionsNo tie-ins – cancel anytime, with just one clickTailored to the customer – it's your life and your death... you decide what you want to happen when you die

On this episode of The What's Next Podcast, we speak to Rachel Wisemen.Rachel is the Chief Executive Officer at NRMA Expeditions, a division of NRMA Limited.ABOUT RACHEL WISEMANRachel Wiseman is the Chief Executive Officer of NRMA Expeditions. Rachel is charged with growing the organization's interest in experiential tourism, with a focus on bespoke product that showcases Australia's natural environment. Prior to this, Rachel served as NRMA Group's Chief Investment Officer leading the commercial interests of the Group including corporate development, investments and strategy. A member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Rachel has held executive positions across the entertainment and media industries including Tabcorp, Fox Sports and Telstra.

We speak to Michelin Star Chef Adam Handling about food waste, sustainability in restaurants and cooking for the G7! ABOUT ADAM HANDLINGMichelin-starred Chef Adam Handling started out at Gleneagles 16 years ago where he was the first ever apprentice chef, before he went on to become Fairmont's youngest ever Head Chef. Adam has a number of impressive awards under his belt, including Scottish Chef of the Year, British Culinary Federation's Chef of the Year, Chef of the Year in the Food & Travel Awards. Adam was (and still is) the youngest person to be one of the Caterer's ‘30 under 30 to watch' in the 2013 Acorn Awards. Voted for by both the public and a selection of esteemed industry judges, Adam was named Restaurateur of the Year in the British GQ Food and Drink Awards 2020, before earning his first Michelin star at his flagship restaurant, Frog by Adam Handling, in 2022.Passionate about the best quality British ingredients and sustainability, Adam's beautifully presented dishes start with careful sourcing of top quality, seasonal ingredients, prepared in a number of different, creative ways to bring their true flavour to life.In 2016, Adam was keen to shake up the restaurant scene and he did just that with The Frog E1. Adam's first restaurant, located in the Old Truman Brewery, was one of the first of its kind in London that offered high quality small plates and tasting menus in a cool and casual environment. The focus was on the 4 pillars that Adam deems make a successful restaurant – food, drink, art and music.In September 2017, Adam opened his flagship restaurant and bar, Frog by Adam Handling and Eve Bar in Covent Garden. The restaurant has been heralded as a “smash hit” by the London Evening Standard and one of the “best restaurants in London right now” by Condé Nast Traveller. Frog by Adam Handling has won ‘Best Newcomer Restaurant' in the 2018 Food & Travel Reader Awards, was voted ‘Best Overall Wine List' at the 2019 Wine List Confidential awards and ‘Cocktail List of the Year' at the National Restaurant Awards 2019. Frog by Adam Handling was awarded its first Michelin Star in February 2022. Eve Bar was awarded ‘Cocktail List of the Year' at the 2019 National Restaurant Awards.In May 2021 Adam opened his first ever venue outside of London and his first-ever pub - The Loch & The Tyne, a restaurant, pub, and rooms in the countryside of Old Windsor. Adam intends to make this one of the most sustainable pubs in the UK, complete with luxury bedrooms for overnight guests. Everything about The Loch & The Tyne is rooted in ‘Sustainable British luxury', with exceptional attention to detail in every corner and truly personal touches throughout. The venue is the perfect countryside location for weddings, private events, and country getaways. In another first for Adam, he has named two of his chefs as Co-Chef Proprietors. Steven Kerr, his Group Executive Chef, and Jonny McNeil, Head Chef at Adam Handling Chelsea, have taken up the reins as an opportunity to showcase the skills they have learnt during their time with Adam. In fact, the name of the pub is representative of where Adam first met both Steven and Jonny - 2008 in Newcastle and 2010 in St Andrews. The Loch & The Tyne was included in The Sunday Times ‘Best Places to Stay' list 2021, awarded Highest New Entry (no. 27) in the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropub Awards 2022, and has recently been awarded 5-stars from the AA.The latest opening for the Adam Handling Restaurant Group is Ugly Butterfly, which is chef Adam's most sustainable brand of restaurants, which launched at the luxurious Carbis Bay Estate on August 2nd 2021, offering British food, inspired by Cornwall. In keeping with both Adam's and the Estate's ethos, there's a strong focus on sustainability. Adam has appointed Jamie Park – who has been one of the key chefs in the group for seven years – as Head Chef. The menus in...

About Sarah Keith and Dan Hojnik Sarah Keith Group MD of Active and Involved Media Having spent 25 of her 30 media YEARS in Australia and the UK working on the publisher side of the business Sarah enjoys both the challenge and opportunity that working across Active and Involved presents.  Having spent time working in commercially focused roles for media brands as diverse as SBS and Fox Sports Venues,  Channel 4 and Publicis the key theme for Sarah in these businesses has been client value creation.          Dan Hojnik Media Strategist, GM of Involved Media, (very new dad to Oscar.) Having returned to Australia after 10 years in Strategy and Planning roles in the UK, Dan joined Paykel Media and helped drive the rebrand to Involved Media to reposition the agency firmly as a value creator for clients. Architect of the” Involved to Power of Active” value proposition Dan has been a key driver of strategic thinking both internally across the business and externally for clients for the last two years.

About Angus McIntosh Angus has a wealth of senior-level, blue-chip Procurement experience. As a former Global and Regional CPO with Beiersdorf and Mars, controlling multiple billions of dollars in spend, he knows the function inside out. This means he can provide a uniquely frank and insightful perspective. Angus is also an experienced consultant and coach on Procurement and negotiation and leads Total Negotiation Group's Procurement practice area. He is also a regular international speaker and writer on procurement and other commercial topics.

Lianre is CEO at Codec, a cultural intelligence platform. She is an award-winning digital marketer, who is passionate about technology, culture, communities and their impact on brands. With 20+ years experience across global companies like LADbible, Livity and Jack Morton Worldwide, she has a wealth of experience in designing and delivering new business and diversification strategies to drive growth and optimise business performance. She is truly passionate about talent development, DE&I and increasing team happiness and performance. She is a member of leading industry organisation WACL (Women Advertising & Communications Leadership) and a proud mentor for the She Says ‘Who's Your Momma' program. Follow Us INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK KARIM - twitter.com/karimkanji PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com The podcast is brought to you by Active International, a global leader in Corporate Trade within the Media & Advertising industry.

This episode is slightly different from our usual themes. However, it's very close to home, very close indeed... this episode is about our brain! We welcome science journalist and author Catherine de Lange to the What's Next podcast, and she shares insight and top tips from her book Brain Power: Everything you Need to Know for a Healthy, Happy Brain. ABOUT CATHERINE DE LANGE Catherine de Lange is an award-winning science journalist and is Magazine Editor at New Scientist, where she has spent almost a decade writing and editing stories about the human body and mind. Her work has been widely published including in Nature, The Observer, BBC, the Telegraph and Washington Post. Her latest book is Brain Power: Everything you need to know for a healthy, happy brain.  She lives in London with her husband and children. Buy Brain Power: Everything you need to know for a healthy, happy brain - https://activeint.uk/3z9ZyaF (activeint.uk/3z9ZyaF) Follow Catherine on Twitter:https://twitter.com/catdl ( twitter.com/catdl)

ABOUT CHRIS STEPHENSON Chris is Chief Marketing Officer for PHD Worldwide His role is to globally amplify PHD's vision of enabling marketers to ‘Make the Leap' – a call to action and reference to how the agency prioritises creativity to drive disproportionate growth for marketers, backed by its proprietary planning platform Omni Studio. Chris is a passionate believer in the mutual benefits of brands engaging people in positive and constructive ways; he believes that considered, creative, integrated, innovative communications create value for audiences, brands and businesses; that reach is not an objective; and that hope is not a strategy. His background is in strategic media and communications planning, and has delivered thought leadership for a range of clients across both Europe and APAC, working on global and regional projects for brands including Singapore Airlines, Unilever, ANZ Bank, Google, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Ferrero, HSBC, Ebay, LG and The Guardian. An industry thought-leader, Chris has co-written three books on the future of the media industry and the impact of machine learning on marketing. A regular and respected commentator on the communications industry, he has presented on stages including Cannes, Spikes Asia and Mumbrella360. Follow Us INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK KARIM - twitter.com/karimkanji PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com The podcast is brought to you by Active International, a global leader in Corporate Trade within the Media & Advertising industry.

Chair, board director, business advisor and marketing thought leader, Andrew is the Chair of Australian Pork, and a Non-Executive Director at Foresters Financial, GrowthOps, BirdDog, Hypetap, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and OzHarvest. He is also a Senior Advisor at BGH Capital and the Adjunct Professor of Marketing at the University of Sydney, and has been the Senior Advisor to KPMG's Customer, Brand and Marketing business. Prior to this he was the CEO of two of the country's largest communications agencies, Publicis, and Ogilvy, where he was a trusted counsel to many of Australia's most iconic brands. Andrew regularly writes and speaks about the future of marketing, in a world where both consumers and technology are ever-evolving. He has been named as one of LinkedIn's Top 40 Australian influencers, recognised by Campaign magazine as one of the Top 5 Agency Leaders in Australia and New Zealand, and the winner of Australian Marketing Institute's Sir Charles McGrath Award for his significant contribution to the field of marketing. Andrew is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and holds a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Monash University

Rishad Tobaccowala is the Chief Growth Officer at Publicis Groupe, an advertising and communications firm whose 80,000 employees worldwide are dedicated to delivering marketing and business transformation. He is responsible for supporting the leaders of Publicis Groupe's largest global clients, to help these organizations grow in a revolutionary time for all businesses. For his pioneering innovation, BusinessWeek named Tobaccowala one of the top business leaders, and he also was dubbed one of five marketing innovators by TIME magazine. He regularly presents keynotes at industry conferences and speaks at well-known global organizations, such as Kellogg's, IBM, Amazon, Google, and Facebook.

Imagine having a job where your mission every day was to encourage people to GROW!  To go outside in the backyard, walk barefoot in the grass, and sink their hands in the soil to plant a garden.  That is exactly what John gets to do as VP, Chief Creative Officer for the incredible lawn and garden brands at Scotts Miracle-Gro. A 17-year veteran of SMG, John oversees the development, production and execution of all consumer facing messaging for the brands of Scotts, Miracle-Gro, Bonnie, Ortho, Tomcat and more.  Over the past couple years, the marketing world has taken notice of the campaigns and work coming out of SMG, recognized by AdAge in 2020 as one of America's Hottest Brands, taking top honors from iHeartMedia for the successful launch of a new gardening podcast (Humans Growing Stuff), and even stepped onto the world's biggest stage by airing the company's first ever Super Bowl commercial in February 2021. Outside of Scotts, John loves to volunteer his time to serve on the Board of The 2nd & 7 Foundation, and recently as a member of the Upper Arlington Civic Association.  In 2017, he was recognized by Columbus Business First as one of the Top 40 Under 40 honorees.

About Erin Ewing Erin Ewing is the CEO and co-founder of Greener Matters, a group of sustainability consultants firmly committed to helping businesses prepare themselves for the new economy of the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit. Before becoming a sustainability professional, he had a 20-year career in media, starting out in classified sales for Dennis publishing then swiftly shifting into digital at CNET Networks, where he began his journey in digital and business transformation. Erin transferred all of his skills to sustainability after having the opportunity to help build Channel 4's sustainability strategy in 2019. Once Covid hit he seized the opportunity to hit the reset button and launch Greener Matters with his business partner. Erin is on a mission to help businesses understand that they can be profitable and equitable to society whilst also sustaining our planet for future generations. He believes that the urgent challenges that are now facing the world need a radically different way of doing business, which is why Greener Matters now exists, to help realise a vision of fair and just prosperity. He firmly believes that business can help solve the social and environmental challenges facing us today by working together in collaboration, by reprioritising our values and making planet and people as important as profit.  The old way of doing things is slowly dying and a new collective, caring and compassionate way of being is now within reach. Originally from Buffalo, NY, Erin has lived and worked in the UK since 1998,with a 4-year stint in the Middle East between 2009-2013.

About Ivan Pehar Ivan Pehar is the Head of Canada Ad Sales at Spotify. He is an accomplished strategic digital marketing professional with over 20 years' experience in brand building, media innovation and technology for some of the world's most respected brands. Ivan is responsible for developing the Spotify Canada go-to-market strategy that assists brands to harness the power of audio. Audio is in the midst of a generational shift and its important that brands establish and showcase their voice in this storytelling medium with authenticity and purpose. Prior to joining Spotify, Ivan spent seven years at Twitter with the launch of their new Canadian office in 2013. As Twitter's Head of Revenue and Agency Partnerships, his focus was on educating the marketing and advertising world on the importance of being part of the conversation. No stranger to global platforms in local markets, Ivan has held positions at Yahoo!, Microsoft and AOL, where he provided strategic solutions that helped brands blend their marketing initiatives from broadcast to web to social. Ivan started his career working at traditional media agencies crafting his skills. He had the opportunity to work on award-winning campaigns across North America that helped brands connect with their customers in unique ways at a time when the digital landscape was eager for change. Ivan is a professor at Humber and Centennial College, where he helps prepare future advertising professionals.

We speak to Andrea Sampson, CEO and Founder of Talk Boutique on the importance of communication and she shares useful tips on how to be a compelling storyteller. About Andrea Sampson Invoking well defined listening skills and combining these with her skills in insight identification and human behaviour, Andrea helps her clients craft stories from facts and deliver talks that are compelling and engaging. As the CEO and Founder of Talk Boutique, Andrea provides her expertise as an Executive Coach to senior leaders and professional speakers worldwide. Having spent the first 20+ years of her career as a senior leader in marketing and advertising, Andrea regularly gave talks and presentations that deeply connected and impacted her audiences. About Talk Boutique We are experts in navigating and developing content, performance, subject matter, and technology, Talk Boutique has it all. We transform experts and changemakers into thought leaders by helping them become storytellers that convey their ideas powerfully that create conversations that help to transform the world. Talk Boutique is the catalyst for change-makers. We help individuals, teams and organizations communicate with clarity and authority. We work with leaders, academics, scientists, technologists and artists helping to translate their knowledge into powerful ideas, transforming them into thought leaders. talkboutique.com Follow Us INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK KARIM - twitter.com/karimkanji PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com The podcast is brought to you by Active International, a global leader in Corporate Trade within the Media & Advertising industry.

What's Next for the internet? We talk metaverse, the decay of web 2.0, artificial intelligence, data ownership and more with Manal Siddiqui, CEO & Co-Founder of Transitional Forms. About Manal Siddiqui Manal Siddiqui is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Transitional Forms, an interactive entertainment studio-lab in Toronto pioneering the future of intelligent content for the metaverse. She is committed to growing Canada's position as a globally significant voice in the responsible stewardship of AI and digital technologies, and in progressing society's understanding of how technological advancements can positively impact fairer, safer, and more inclusive global communities. Prior to Transitional Forms, Manal built foundational operations and strategic partnerships in health for the Vector Institute, one of the premier machine learning and AI research institutes in the world and home to over 500 of Canada's AI researchers. As a systems change strategist, she has successfully established and scaled innovation-based businesses across public and private sectors. Manal hails from Pakistan, lives in Toronto and holds graduate degrees with distinction from the Bayes Business School, City of London and from the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, in addition to an undergraduate degree in biotechnology from the University of Toronto. Follow Us INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK KARIM - twitter.com/karimkanji PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com The podcast is brought to you by Active International, a global leader in Corporate Trade within the Media & Advertising industry.

We speak to https://www.linkedin.com/company/2516339/admin/# (Barry Alexander), VP of Brand Marketing at https://www.linkedin.com/company/2516339/admin/# (Knixwear), a Canadian underwear brand that is proudly "Redefining Intimates". Knix is a brand known for its award-winning dedication to inclusion. We asked Barry what steps a brand has to take to embrace community, diversity, and inclusion into their culture: " It can't just be a tagline. It can't just be a message out there at an opportune time in the calendar and dependent on the conversation. It has to be every day, you really do have to reflect and make sure that it becomes part of your DNA." About Barry Alexander Barry is the VP Brand Marketing at Knix with nearly two decades of brand and marketing experience with a variety consumer and entertainment brands. Barry joined the leakproof underwear and wireless bras leader in 2021 where his talented team oversees brand, visual identity, content, and partnerships for Knix's growing portfolio of products. Prior to Knix, Barry held roles at consumer goods companies such as Iovate Health Sciences, Maple Leaf Foods, Molson Coors, and Kraft Heinz as well as with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. About Knix Joanna Griffiths launched Knix with the goal of transforming an underwear market that had too much frill and not enough function. A trailblazer with the creation of Leakproof Underwear, she continues to focus on listening to what people want and bringing revolutionary solutions to life. https://knix.com Follow Us INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK KARIM - twitter.com/karimkanji PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com The podcast is brought to you by Active International, a global leader in Corporate Trade within the Media & Advertising industry.

We speak with returning guest Duncan Stewart from Deloitte Canada on What's Next! In this episode Duncan gives us insight into the Deloitte predictions on Games and Gaming Consoles, the churn of SVOD, sports NFTs and good old fashioned reading! Read more on Deloitte's TMT predictions - https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/technology-media-and-telecom-predictions.html About Duncan Stewart Duncan is the Director of TMT Research for Deloitte Canada, a member of Deloitte's US Center for Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT Center) and is a globally recognized expert on predicting the future of consumer and enterprise technology, media and entertainment & telecommunications. He has been co-author of Deloitte Global's annual Predictions report on trends in TMT since 2008. He meets with hundreds of the top tech, media, and telecom companies globally each year, and incorporates their insights into his work. He presents regularly to companies and at conferences, has a high-profile media presence, and is frequently interviewed on the future of everything. Duncan has 32 years of experience in the TMT industry. As a portfolio manager, he made investments in the tech and telecom sector, and won the Canadian Technology Fund Manager of the Year award in its inaugural year. In his time as an investor he deployed a cumulative $2 billion of capital into global TMT markets, in public and private companies. He is a CFA® charterholder and holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of British Columbia. Follow Us INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK KARIM - twitter.com/karimkanji PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com The podcast is brought to you by Active International, a global leader in Corporate Trade within the Media & Advertising industry.

Welcome back to The What's Next Podcast, we kick off the new season with Ron Tite, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Church+State agency in Canada. About Ron Tite A best-selling author, speaker, and entrepreneur, Ron Tite has always blurred the lines between art and commerce. He has been an award-winning advertising writer and Creative Director for some of the world's most respected brands including Air France, Evian, Fidelity, Johnson & Johnson, Intel, Microsoft, Volvo and many others. He is founder and chief creative officer of Church+State, an agency that unifies content and advertising. In a partnership with Roger's Frequency Podcast Network, he's the host and executive producer of the hit podcast, “The Coup”, which recently won “Outstanding Business Series” from the Canadian Podcast Awards and the NY Festivals. He has written for television. Penned a children's book. Wrote, produced and performed a hit play. Created a branded art gallery. Published an award winning comedy book with CBC Radio's hit show, “This is That”. And was Executive Producer & Host of the awardwinning comedy show, Monkey Toast. In demand as a speaker all over the world, Ron speaks to leading organizations about creativity, disruption, branding, and leadership. Ron's first book was, Everyone's An Artist - Or At Least They Should Be (Co-written by Scott Kavanagh and Christopher Novais), was published by HarperCollins in 2016. His most recent book, Think • Do • Say: How to Seize Attention and Build Trust in a Busy Busy World, hit store shelves in October of 2019. Ron sits on the advisory boards for the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival and the Institute for Health & Human Potential. Follow Us INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK KARIM - twitter.com/karimkanji PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com The podcast is brought to you by Active International, a global leader in Corporate Trade within the Media & Advertising industry.

About Gillian McMichael Gillian is an acclaimed transformational coach and is in the top 3% of coaches world-wide. With over two decades of experience of working with Executives globally she has supported over 10,000 clients overcome their barriers to success. Moving beyond fear to elicit agency in those she works with. The founder of Full Circle Global, Gillian's passion and energetic drive towards excellence in coaching has seen her company rapidly become a market leader in leadership development, coaching and coach training. A champion of professional development, Gillian is a true entrepreneurial leader at the forefront of coaching and leadership growth.Her client list of leaders and managers spans law, property, private equity, banking, construction, IT, and government. Her coaching and leadership development work is recognised as innovative and empowering, evoking awareness and actions that lead to success. She has supported the growth of hundreds of organisations, working in partnership to identify key areas of organisational development. This collaborative approach assists in redefining strategic vision, improving performance and developing the personal ability of teams using facilitated learning and coaching as a foundation to challenge, focus and motivate.  Gillian's extensive experience was founded upon a 12-year career in Human Resources and prior to Full Circle she led New U Coaching as Development & Coaching Director. She is a member of the International Coach Federation ICF, the Association for Coaches, EMCC and an Associate Member of the CIPD and the Institute of Directors. Gillian is also a former member of the ICF UK Board of Directors. Gillian is an ICF globally accredited coach and is holds the MCC certification and an accredited coach supervisor with CSA. She also is a certified Chopra Centre meditation & wellness teacher.

In the latest episode of The What's Next Podcast, we look at what's next for diversity within the media & advertising industry. We gain insight from Naren Patel, founder of Media For All and previously CEO of Primesight, a leading OOH media company. Naren is passionate about improving ethnic diversity in the Media sector and founded Media for All (http://www.mediaforall.org.uk (www.mediaforall.org.uk)), a social enterprise, in 2018.  MEFA's mission is to help Black, Asian & ethnic minority talent thrive through mentorship and support with the ultimate aim to increase diversity within the media and advertising industry.  ABOUT NAREN PATEL Naren Patel joined the media industry in 1991. He floated the outdoor advertising business Primesight on the London Stock Exchange in 1997, and in 1999 sold Primesight to STV plc. In 2007, Naren led an MBO of Primesight and then grew the business through acquisitions and organic development. He made Primesight one the leading and most successful brands in the media industry, winning Media Brand and Commercial Sales team of the year awards and growing revenue 20X during his tenure. In September 2018, Primesight was acquired by Global Radio and Naren stepped down as CEO of Primesight in July 2019. Naren is passionate about improving ethnic diversity in the Media sector and is now focussed on Media for All (www.mediaforall.org.uk) a social enterprise that he created in 2018. MEFA provides free mentorship and support for Black, Asian and other ethnic talent in media. The group has over 300 Black and Asian members. He works on a pro bono basis and also provides free advice to charities and businesses in the media sector on Diversity and Inclusion. Naren is also a trustee for NABS (The charity for the Advertising industry) and sits on the Finance and Investments Boards. In 2021 Naren launched Geoprove a verification tool for location based mobile advertising ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FOLLOW US INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK KARIM - twitter.com/karimkanji PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com

The impact of the pandemic and climate change has had a significant effect on global supply chains. With the COP26 Climate Change conference taking place this week, this episode is a timely look inside the world of supply chains and how innovators within the industry are aligning their services with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals to provide ethical and beneficial solutions for global businesses. In this episode, we speak to Patricia Moser, founder of i3 Advantage, a high-value supply chain, procurement and sustainability consultancy specialist. In Patricia's previous role as Chief Procurement Officer for one of the United Nations larger agencies, she experienced how conscientious, considered supply chain & procurement decisions within businesses can impact all of the UN's 17 sustainable development goals.  With her consultancy i3 Advantage, where the "i"s stand for Insight, Innovation and Impact, Patricia can advise businesses on how to make choices that focus on operational excellence, resilience, risk the three tiers of sustainability social, economic and environmental. THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS GOAL 1: NO POVERTYEconomic growth must be inclusive to provide sustainable jobs and promote equality. GOAL 2: ZERO HUNGERThe food and agriculture sector offers key solutions for development, and is central for hunger and poverty eradication. GOAL 3: GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEINGEnsuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages is essential to sustainable development. GOAL 4: QUALITY EDUCATIONObtaining a quality education is the foundation to improving people's lives and sustainable development. GOAL 5: GENDER EQUALITYGender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. GOAL 6: CLEAN WATER AND SANITATIONClean, accessible water for all is an essential part of the world we want to live in. GOAL 7: AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGYEnergy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity. GOAL 8: DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTHSustainable economic growth will require societies to create the conditions that allow people to have quality jobs. GOAL 9: INDUSTRY, INNOVATION, AND INFRASTRUCTUREInvestments in infrastructure are crucial to achieving sustainable development. GOAL 10: REDUCED INEQUALITIESTo reduce inequalities, policies should be universal in principle, paying attention to the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized populations. GOAL 11: SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIESThere needs to be a future in which cities provide opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more. GOAL 12: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTIONResponsible Production and Consumption GOAL 13: CLIMATE ACTIONClimate change is a global challenge that affects everyone, everywhere. GOAL 14: LIFE BELOW WATERCareful management of this essential global resource is a key feature of a sustainable future. GOAL 15: LIFE ON LANDSustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss GOAL 16: PEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONSAccess to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels. GOAL 17: PARTNERSHIPSRevitalize the global partnership for sustainable development. About Patricia Moser Patricia Moser is recognized as a pioneer and thought-leader in procurement and supply chain, internationally. She has led positive transformation in multiple sectors, both private and public. Her innovative approaches have garnered global recognition resulting in several prestigious awards. Patricia has the ability to envision and inspire, leading to successful outcomes in complex situations. She has a passion for sustainability, working with organizations to embrace and implement social, economic and environmental sustainability. She believes that supply chain and procurement can positively impact...

This episode we take a little look into the world of recruitment: What are businesses looking for when hiring C-Suite executives and what are the C-Suite executives looking for when seeking new opportunities, has this changed since the global pandemic has affected the traditional working models? We asked Liz Jones and Daren Rubins, Founders of Conker, a specialist executive search company that specialises in the media and marcom industries to help us out with the answers! ABOUT CONKER Conker is an Executive Search business that finds transformational talent for senior roles in agencies, media owners, digital platforms and client brands. Our remit stretches across commercial, strategic, technical, operational and specialist areas - and often in combination. Learn more about Conker https://conkerwithus.com ABOUT LIZ JONES Liz is an experienced commercial leader who understands how talent drives better business outcomes. She is a strong networker and collaborator; passionate about contributing to positive change and business results through diversity, inclusion and well-being. Alongside her most recent role at Dentsu Aegis Network (CEO of B2B), she was also the Executive Sponsor for Diversity and Inclusion and together with HR built the first set of complete diversity metrics for business to inform 2020 goals focused on gender, agile working and ethnicity. Liz led the successful roll-out of unconscious bias training to the leadership team and she also launched the first LGBT+ resource group and gender equality network at Dentsu Aegis Network. She has always enjoyed building diverse, high performing teams. At PSI over eight years she hired over 20 individuals from different backgrounds and markets and in doing so doubled the revenue and profit of the business. A proud WACL member, she drove the recent initiative with LinkedIn using data for the first time to look at gender parity in the Media, Marketing and Communications industry. She has always mentored formally and informally via NABS, WACL, IPA and the wider industry. She is currently on the WACL Exec (Communications and Voice) and was a main committee member of the IAA for many years. Liz is also a NABs Stronger than Summer committee member and mentors for most of the initiatives in the media industry. ABOUT DAREN RUBINS Daren's entire career has been built around helping companies and people to achieve their potential. Across 30 incredibly successful years in advertising, Daren has been responsible for hiring and/or leading some of today's most successful names in the marketing industry. His belief is that motivated talent, in the right environment, can achieve anything. In his 10 years as MD and then CEO of PHD in the UK, the agency experienced unprecedented success. Highlights included; Pitching and winning Cadbury, Kraft, Expedia, Dyson, Twitter, Confused.com, Purple Bricks, Viacom, British Heart Foundation, P&O Cruises, VW Group, Magners and many more. Winning eight individual Media Agency of the Year accolades, seven Grand Prix awards and two Cannes Lions Gold awards. Achieving four consecutive top 100 Best Companies Awards, including 25th, 18th and 16th positions. Daren also co-created the industry-accreditation Advanced Media Certificate, for which he received an IPA Fellowship and has spoken on numerous platforms about talent and diversity, including the 3% Conference, WACL, Token Man, Omniwomen, Bloom and HeForShe. In 2017, Daren became CEO at The Lighthouse Company, where he placed 18 business leaders in as many months. In his spare time, Daren mentors individuals at all levels and also the runs the Marketing Advisory Group for the JW3 Community Centre.

We speak to Alex Barker, a freelance consultant and facilitator, who runs Be More Pirate as a network and movement. She is co-author of How to Be More Pirate and works across the public and private sector on strategy, culture change and challenging the status quo. Previously, she was communications manager at think tank the RSA (Royal Society of Arts).

We speak to Sonia Carreno, President of IAB Canada, about the cookieless future and what that will mean for advertisers. Sonia takes us through Project Rearc, the IAB's global call-to-action for stakeholders across the digital supply chain, to re-think and re-architect digital marketing to support core industry use while balancing consumer privacy and personalization. The Rearc project quickly evolved into three working groups: Addressable audiences, Accountability, and a Global Framework, and Sonia outlines these briefly in our bitesize podcast episode. To read more about the IAB's Rearc project visit: www.iab.com/blog/project-rearc-an-industry-collaboration-to-rearchitect-digital-marketing ABOUT SONIA CARRENO Sonia has been passionate about the Internet and its forward movement in Canada from the start and brings over 20 years of experience touching virtually every aspect of digital marketing. Sonia has led global digital strategy initiatives for international brands including Gillette, Heineken, General Motors, RBC, Coca Cola and Spin Master Toys. Her work has included every discipline of online media and her specialities range from performance marketing to social media strategy and start-up strategy. She has also consulted industry associations and many publishers to help navigate the disruptive media landscape. Her passion for the industry continues in the role of President of the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada where she continues to help drive the industry forward and put Canada on the global stage for online media innovation. In 2021, Sonia was inducted into the Canadian Marketing, Advertising, Communication and PR Hall of Fame for her efforts in bringing the Canadian marketing and advertising industry into the digital age.

We are joined by Robert Jacobi, Founding Partner of https://www.nunatak.com/en (The Nunatak Group). Robert talks to us about the seismic shift to digitization accelerated by the pandemic and the key recipes needed for companies to innovate. About The Nunatak Group The Nunatak Group is the go-to strategy consultancy when it comes to digitalization. They support clients from all industries in their digital transformation and help them achieve sustainable growth. Nunatuk combine strategic and analytical know-how with a pragmatic and results-oriented approach. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FOLLOW US INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK KARIM - twitter.com/karimkanji PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com

In this episode, we speak to Brian Gallagher, who shared his insight as the Chief of Sales at Australian Media Owner SCA on the changing media landscape and how the pandemic has helped shine a light on localism. SME businesses were the first to feel the pain of the Covid-19 outbreak in Australia. SCA quickly mobilised a 'Shop Local' campaign on a national basis, with localised campaigns running on social radio shows, where local people could call in and talk up their favourite local businesses. "...because of the very highly social nature of radio, we were also able to use our morning shows, our drive time shows, and our daytime shows to get consumers to call in and tell stories about great local vendors, what they were doing, and how they'd helped them." Brian also spoke on the attractiveness and dominance of the big giants Google and Facebook for SME advertisers and why SCA brought in more digital marketing experts to help their customers understand the importance of advertising outside the giants with a blend of mediums to achieve their goals. "Facebook can operate at any budgetary level. They operate in a dashboarded scenario... It's a slot machine for marketing; depending on how sophisticated a client you are, you can very quickly put a lot of coins in the slot. Cost per acquisition seems to rise inexorably. We feel very strongly that those platforms, while appearing convenient or cost-effective, there's a hidden cost there, and our small to medium advertisers, in the main, don't see how that works. We are fiercely local about our content and our connection with our communities, but we've implemented more and more executives who are experts in digital marketing in these communities so that they can take hold of those advertisers and say, "Yes, you should be in search. "Yes, you should be in social, "but you should be deploying in this manner."  ABOUT BRIAN GALLAGHER Brian has over 30 years' experience in the broadcast and digital media industries, from advertising sales to developing video content production business's. He has focused his career on the successful intersection of content and brand storytelling. Brian has led the successful development of brand integration strategy and workflow for broadcasters and production companies which led to him to build a successful brand funded television programming business. Brian has developed several business's from start-up stage to commercial success. In his current role as Chief Sales Officer at SCA he enjoys driving business growth for the many major advertisers and SME's that SCA support via Australia's largest network of Radio, TV and Digital, by driving a passion for 'great ideas inspired by insight' across the team. ABOUT SCA Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) is one of Australia's leading media companies reaching more than 95% of the Australian population through its radio, television, and digital assets.  Under the Triple M and Hit network brands, SCA owns 99 stations across FM, AM, and DAB+ radio. SCA provides national sales representation for 34 regional radio stations.  SCA broadcasts 93 free to air TV signals across regional Australia, reaching 2.7 million people a week, with Ten Network programming and advertising representation across regional QLD, southern NSW and regional Victoria, Seven Network in Tasmania, Seven and Ten in Darwin, Remote Central and Eastern Australia, and Seven, Nine and Ten in Broken Hill and Spencer Gulf. Sky News Regional will also be broadcast in 17 of SCA's regional markets across Victoria, Southern NSW and Queensland. SCA operates LiSTNR, Australia's free audio destination for consumers housing radio, podcasts, music and news.  SCA also provides Australian sales representation for global open audio platform SoundCloud and Sonos Radio.  SCA's premium brands are supported by social media, live events and digital platforms that deliver national and local entertainment and news...

We talk to WACL member Zoe Howorth (Women in Advertising and Communication Leadership) on a range of topics from Olympic advertising for brands, leaning on her experiences as Marketing Director for Coca Cola UK . To 'Meat Free Mondays', an initiative, which has encouraged millions to reduce their meat intake, positively impacted the environment and raised climate change awareness. And finally Zoe discusses why working for businesses which puts emphasis on the 3 Ps of 'Profit, Planet & People' is rewarding and fits the emerging, accountable consumer mindset. "Consumers want brands with good utility, have real purpose and are more than a commercial entity." ABOUT ZOE HOWORTH A classically trained marketer who began life at Procter and Gamble, benefiting from their world class graduate program with roles on market leading laundry brands Ariel and Daz. After stint at United Biscuits which built strong commercial awareness , Zoe joined the Coca-Cola Company in 1998. Over a 15 year period Zoe progressed from Brand Manager to Marketing Director, across this time she led the marketing campaigns from idea to execution across all of the brands , led international campaigns and worked in developing and rolling out marketing capability programs (The Coca-Cola way of Marketing) for the next generation. In her final role as Marketing Director she oversaw Coca- Cola's marketing of the 2012 Olympic games and also served for 3 years on the GB Leadership team which stewarded the whole business through the breadth of strategic, legal, HR, customer and corporate affairs. Finally, Zoe was the lead interface with the companies Sales and distribution partners (Coca-Cola Enterprises) where her role was to deliver inspirational programs which could work ‘at the point of purchase' in a collaborative way with the sales teams. More recently, Zoe has transitioned into portfolio non executive roles and holds 3 board positions. The first of these is Water Babies International, a global baby swimming business, Playfinder , a tech business enabling the online booking of sports facilities across the UK. Finally, Zoe is Chair of Houston PR which is an innovative PR consultancy with excellent pedigree in both consumer and financial PR.

We talk with https://www.linkedin.com/company/2692490/admin/# (Adrian Montgomery), CEO of https://www.linkedin.com/company/2692490/admin/# (Enthusiast Gaming), about the meteoric rise of the e-sports and gaming industry and why its a vital space for advertisers/marketers. "60% of Gen Z prefer e-sports over traditional sports". A statistic that may seem strange to some, however, Adrian illuminates how the US election zoned in on the Gen Z vote by getting on board the gaming train. The potential for the advertising & marketing industry is vast, with privacy updates being extensively rolled out and impacting available third-party data. The wealth of first-party data in the growing gaming community will be crucial for advertisers seeking to reach a demographic that is hard to find using traditional media routes. ABOUT ADRIAN MONTGOMERY As the Chief Executive Officer of Enthusiast Gaming, Adrian and his team are building the world's largest social network of communities for gamers and e-sports fans that reaches over 300 million gaming enthusiasts on a monthly basis. The Company's business is comprised of four main pillars—E-sports, Content, Talent and Events. The E-sports division includes 7 teams under Luminosity Gaming; Content includes 100 gaming related websites and 2 of the top 20 gaming media and entertainment brands on YouTube with BCC Gaming and Arcade Cloud; Our Talent division works with nearly 1,000 YouTube creators and leading gamer talent and our Events include EGLX, the largest gaming expo. Adrian has been a senior officer and director of several public and private companies in the fields of media, sports and entertainment, finance and industrial services. Most recently, he served as President and CEO of Aquilini Sports and Entertainment, one of Canada's premier sports and entertainment organizations. He i s the former president of Tuckamore Capital Management, a conglomerate with over $700 million of annual revenue, and was also the former CEO of QM Environmental, one of Canada's largest contracting companies. Mr. Montgomery has been active in the political process throughout his career and has served as a political advisor to Leaders at all levels of government. Mr. Montgomery is also a member of the New York State Bar Association. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FOLLOW US INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK KARIM - twitter.com/karimkanji PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com

We chat to Abba Newbery about how Habito is the "What's Next" of Mortgage Broker/Provider in the UK. The UK mortgage industry is archaic, and possibly even broken when we consider how people are now living their lives. People who are self-employed or have non-linear careers struggle to find mortgages that fit them, Habito was founded to challenge the old ways. Abba explains the 'B Corp' accreditation that Habito holds and how it aligns with Habito's mission to help people find a home, a home that is or has the potential to be environmentally sound, and a part of an integrated community. Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. ABOUT ABBA NEWBERY Abba Newbery is CMO at Habito, the disruptive tech driven mortgage business, now also proudly a B Corp Abba Newbery is the CMO of Habito, a tech start-up founded in 2016 with the mission of setting people free from the hell of mortgages, and that has since become the fastest growing mortgage broker in the UK. Prior to joining Habito, Abba was Head of Commercial Strategy at News UK and Managing Partner for Communications Strategy at Universal McCann. Abba has also been a mentor on the Google Start-up Accelerator programme and the YouTube Creator mentoring scheme. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FOLLOW US INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK KARIM - twitter.com/karimkanji PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com

We speak to Dan Bates, Founder and CEO of Rebel Energy about launching a new breed of energy supplier in the UK. Dan's mission with Rebel Energy is to address inequality and the climate crisis with a startup that addresses 3 mega trends in the energy industry: 1. Global Regulatory Changes. This can be seen in the USA's renewed commitment to the Paris Agreement, many countries and businesses commitment to carbon neutrality by the middle of the century and the upcoming COP26 UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Glasgow, Scotland later this year. 2.Technology Changes. With advancements in wind, solar and tidal energy generation and the huge shift over to electric vehicles. 3. Consumer Changes. Consumers are seeking more ethical businesses, exploring choices and placing money into companies that they trust. Dan also discusses the UK startup culture that has enabled challenger, 'disrupter' businesses to flourish with many traditional barriers disappearing. ABOUT DAN BATES Dan is the CEO and founder of Rebel Energy, a supplier of energy to UK households.  Rebel Energy is built around a social mission to provide affordable clean energy.  Dan has a desire to make a difference in society and show that big business can be good business.  Prior to founding Rebel Energy, Dan spent over 15 years at BP in a variety of senior leadership roles. ABOUT REBEL ENERGY Rebel Energy is a new breed of energy supplier, providing clean energy to households in the UK at an affordable price. Rebel's on a mission to address inequality and combat the climate crisis with a benevolent mindset. Rebel with a cause, energy with a difference. --------------------------------------- FOLLOW US INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK KARIM - twitter.com/karimkanji PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com

Undoubtedly one of the most fascinating brands of the past year is Just Eat Takeaway, a British-Dutch dot-com company; in this episode, we enjoyed speaking to Canadian subsidiary company SkipTheDishes CEO Kevin Edwards. Kevin talks about the lessons learned throughout the pandemic; the effect on their business and independent restaurants. ---------------------------------------------- HISTORY OF JUST EAT TAKEAWAY Canadian online food delivery company SkipTheDishes was acquired by Just Eat in 2016 for $200M. The following years saw several mergers and acquisitions across many international markets of scale-up delivery services. By 2020 UK's Just Eat (which had already acquired SkipTheDishes, Menulog, hungryhouse) merged with takeway.com to become Just Eat Takeaway. In March 2021, Just Eat Takeaway said it expected further growth in orders in 2021 after the pandemic helped drive a sharp rise in revenue for the year. The food delivery group hailed an "exceptional" 2020 after posting revenue of €2.4bn (£2bn), up 54 per cent from €1.6bn in the previous 12 months. The company reported three consecutive quarters of growth over the year, with overall orders rising 42% to 588m. --------------------------------------------- ABOUT KEVIN EDWARDS Kevin was appointed Chief Executive Officer, SkipTheDishes in November 2018 after joining the business in April as Chief Marketing Officer. Proving to be a transformational leader, he was appointed to lead Just Eat's North American portfolio as Skip entered their next stage of global business growth. With over 30 years of consumer strategy experience, global logistics expertise, and organizational change leadership, Kevin brings a depth of experience to the rapidly-growing business and industry.   Prior to joining Skip, Kevin was the Chief Marketing Officer for the global Movember Foundation, and held the position of Vice President of Marketing for Office Depot in both North America and Europe where he led teams through organisational change, international integration and brand evolvement.  --------------------------------------- FOLLOW US INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK KARIM - twitter.com/karimkanji PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com

We speak to Steve Dennis, author of 'Remarkable Retail How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption'. Steve gives us an overview of the retail industry; the impacts of shopping mall oversupply, lack of diversified shopping experiences and the evolution of e-commerce. Steve also takes us through 'The 8 Essentials of Remarkable Retail', a framework that guides brands in the design of enduring, highly profitable and intensely customer-centric growth strategies. **ABOUT STEVE DENNIS** Steve Dennis is a leading global retail influencer, keynote speaker & consultant, Senior Forbes Contributor, and bestselling author, ‘Remarkable Retail' Steve Dennis is a consultant, keynote speaker and author focused on retail growth and innovation. He has been named a top global retail influencer by multiple organizations and his thoughts on the future of shopping are regularly shared in his role as a Forbes Senior Contributor. His new best-selling book is "Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Digital Disruption" and he is the host of the Remarkable Retail podcast. During a 30 year career as a senior executive at two Fortune 500 retailers–and more recently as a strategic advisor–Steve has worked with dozens of retail, consumer, luxury and social impact brands to inspire, catalyze and design their journey to remarkable results. As a sought-out keynote speaker, Steve has delivered talks on six continents, sharing his unique perspective on what it takes to reignite customer growth in a world of constant change and shifting consumer preferences. He has contributed commentary to Bloomberg/Business Week, the BBC, CNBC, CNN, the Harvard Business Review and the Wall Street Journal, among many others. Steve is currently the President of SageBerry Consulting. Prior to founding SageBerry, he was the chief strategy officer and SVP, multichannel marketing for the Neiman Marcus Group. Steve received his MBA from Harvard and a BA from Tufts University. **FOLLOW STEVE** stevenpdennis.com twitter.com/stevenpdennis www.linkedin.com/in/stevenpdennis/ ------------------------------------------------------- **FOLLOW US** INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK LINKEDIN - www.linkedin.com/company/active-international-uk KARIM - twitter.com/karimkanji PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com

In this episode of the What's Next podcast, we speak with Tina Fegent, a leading specialist and consultant in Marketing Procurement. Marketing Procurement is the buying of goods and services that support an organisation's Marketing investment. It covers the Marketing 4 P's – Product; Price; Place (Distribution) and Promotion. It is a wide-ranging category covering spend areas such as advertising through to the negotiation of sponsorship contracts. Tina gives her insight into how Marketing Procurement has grown, evolved and where it is headed. The What's Next podcast explores big ideas and innovative thoughts on the future of Marketing and Advertising. Our guests come from varied backgrounds across the industry; the topics we seek to cover include cultivating positive company culture, consumer & industry trends, leadership and more. ** ABOUT TINA FEGENT ** Tina Fegent was one of the first to work in Marketing Procurement over 25 years ago. Tina then established many of the first Marketing Procurement teams in the UK for Cellnet (Telefonica), SB (GSK) and Orange & France Telecom. From Lucozade Sports bottles to Orange Arrows Formula One Racing, there isn't a category of marketing that she hasn't procured. She was then the first Procurement person to work agency side at Grey Advertising and Lowe London as their Commercial Director. An experience that taught her how agencies work commercially. In 2006 she set up Tina Fegent Consulting to offer a Marketing Procurement Consultancy service to clients. Recent clients (in the last 12 months or so) have been Amazon, SSE, PepsiCo, Halfords, Imperial Tobacco, Checkatrade, P&O Ferries and Aldi. She works at a strategic level to help identify what is required to make marketing procurement successful in an organisation. Market knowledge and stakeholder engagement being some of her key attributes. She manages and works alongside clients and agencies to make sure the best commercial relationship is in place. She also mentors and trains marketing procurement teams and individuals. She has chaired the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) Specialist Knowledge Group on Marketing Purchasing since its inception in 2006. She was a key contributor to the Magic and Logic initiative and am a regular speaker globally on Marketing Procurement. And very proudly she was the first Marketing Procurement person to appear in Campaign's Annual A List of the most powerful people in the Advertising industry! She is also the volunteer Director of Recruitment for the Conscious Advertising Network, which is trying to make sure that the industry ethics catches up with the technology of modern advertising, and brands are being asked to sign up and support the 6 manifestos that are in place to counteract topics such as fake news and ad fraud. ** TINA'S LINKS ** www.tinafegent.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-fegent-fcips-2103573 https://twitter.com/tinafegent ** FOLLOW US ** www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com www.instagram.com/activeintworld www.twitter.com/activeintluk

We have a quick chat with Carl Honoré about slowing down! Carl is the voice of the Slow Movement. "In a world addicted to speed, slowness is a superpower!" ABOUT CARL HONORÉ Carl Honoré is a bestselling author, broadcaster and the global voice of the Slow Movement. His two main-stage TED Talks have racked up millions of views. His first book, In Praise of Slow, chronicles the global trend toward putting on the brakes in everything from work to food to parenting. The Financial Times said it is “to the Slow Movement what Das Kapital is to communism.” Carl's second book, Under Pressure explores how to raise and educate children in a fast world and was hailed by Time as a “gospel of the Slow Parenting movement.” Carl's third book, The Slow Fix, explores how to tackle complex problems in every walk of life, from health and relationships to business and politics, without falling for superficial, short-term quick fixes. Carl's latest book, Bolder: Making The Most Of Our Longer Lives, explores ageing – how we can do it better and feel better about doing it. It's also a spirited manifesto against ageism. Published in 35 languages, his books have landed on bestseller lists in many countries. In Praise of Slow was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and the inaugural choice for the Huffington Post Book Club. It also featured in a British TV sitcom, Argentina's version of Big Brother and a TV commercial for the Motorola tablet. Under Pressure was shortlisted for the Writers' Trust Award, the top prize for non-fiction in Canada. Bolder was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and a Reader's Digest (UK) Book of the Month. Carl featured in a series for BBC Radio 4 called The Slow Coach in which he helped frazzled, over-scheduled people slow down. He also presented a television show called Frantic Family Rescue on Australia's ABC 1. Carl is an advisor to Jack Media, which makes messaging apps, and sits on the Board of Trustees of Hewitt School in New York City.   Carl lives in London. While researching his first book on slowness he was slapped with a speeding ticket. **CARL'S LINKS** www.carlhonore.info twitter.com/carlhonore **FOLLOW US** INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - https://twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK (twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK) KARIM - https://twitter.com/karimkanji (twitter.com/karimkanji) PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com

This week's podcast features quickfire insights into the 'TMT Predictions 2021' report published by Deloitte. Duncan Stewart, Director of Research for Deloitte Canada and co-author of the report, gives us further insight into 3 key topics featured in the report: The continued growth of online medical services, which is providing fairer access for people living in rural parts of the world and changing the healthcare industry. The rise of women's sports and the vast market potential that advertisers can take advantage of whilst the sector is still maturing. How changing gambling laws in the USA and Canada will deliver huge growth in the North American Sports Betting industry similar to the marketplace in the UK. ----------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT DUNCAN STEWART Duncan is the Director of TMT Research for Deloitte Canada and is a globally recognized expert on predicting the future of consumer and enterprise technology, media and entertainment & telecommunications. He has been co-author of Deloitte Global Research's annual Predictions report on trends in TMT since 2008. He meets with hundreds of the top tech, media and telecom companies globally each year, and incorporates their insights into his work. He presents regularly to companies and at conferences, has a high-profile media presence and is frequently interviewed on the future of everything. Duncan has 31 years of experience in the TMT industry. As a portfolio manager, he made investments in the tech and telecom sector, and won the Canadian Technology Fund Manager of the Year award in its inaugural year. In his time as an investor he deployed a cumulative $2 billion of capital into global TMT markets, in public and private companies. He is a CFA® charterholder and holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of British Columbia. --------------------------------------------------------------- **DUNCAN'S LINKS** TWITTER - https://twitter.com/dunstewart (@dunstewart) https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/technology-media-and-telecom-predictions.html (DELOITTE 2021 REPORT ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **FOLLOW US** INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - https://twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK (twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK) KARIM - https://twitter.com/karimkanji (twitter.com/karimkanji) PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com

We chat with Professor Dr Jonathan AJ Wilson, Professor of Brand Strategy and Culture at Regent's University in London. We discussed how businesses can avoid tokenism in advertising & company culture and how the smart money is on embracing this watershed moment. "Avoid tokenism, hire experts!" ABOUT PROFESSOR DR JONATHAN A.J. WILSON Professor Jonathan A.J. Wilson has spent over 20 years in industry and academia as a practitioner with https://www.dundee.ac.uk/stories/halal-guru-receives-rare-degree-dundee (two doctorates) - specialising in what he calls the ABCDs of Business and Culture: Advertising, Branding, Communications, and Digital. He started his career in the late ‘90s, working in media owner and client-side advertising management roles in London – ranging from sales, sponsorship, planning and buying, to events and PR. In 2005 he moved into marketing consultancy, professional training and academia. Professor Wilson has published over 200 pieces of work, spoken at over 100 conferences across the globe and featured in LinkedIn's annual Top Voices awards list for https://www.regents.ac.uk/news/top-voices-dr-jonathan-wilson-named-on-linkedins-annual-list (4 consecutive years). Also, having graduated from 4 different faculties, previously been an elite athlete, and worked as a professional musician and songwriter, he aims to champion the art of Science and the science of Art.   ------------------------------------------------- **DR JONATHAN A.J WILSON LINKS** Website: http://drjonwilson.com/ (drjonwilson.com) Twitter: https://twitter.com/drjonwilson (twitter.com/drjonwilson) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjonwilson (www.instagram.com/drjonwilson) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjonwilson/ (www.linkedin.com/in/drjonwilson) --------------------------------------------------- **FOLLOW US** INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - https://twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK (twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK) KARIM - https://twitter.com/karimkanji (twitter.com/karimkanji) PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com

In this episode with Paul Skinner, Founder of Marketing Kind and Agency of the Future shares his thoughts on how marketing can play a more positive role in the world and how marketers have the essential qualities and skills to contribute to societal change. As businesses look to recover and rebuild, Paul discusses the importance of establishing and reconnecting with purpose, not only for shareholders but all stakeholders including employees and society on the whole. ABOUT PAUL SKINNER Paul Skinner is an award-winning strategy consultant, social entrepreneur and the author of Collaborative Advantage: How collaboration beats competition as a strategy for success. He believes the paradigm of competitive advantage may now be constraining our business success rather than increasing it. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of Ben and Jerry's, agree, providing Paul's book with a tasty endorsement: 'Collaborative Advantage offers the perfect recipe for successful businesses that improve lives.' Paul is the founder of the social enterprise MarketingKind, which is a membership community dedicated to harnessing the power of marketing to better advance humankind. He is also the founder of the Agency of the Future, which empowers client organisations to better understand, define and mobilise around their purpose to drive sustainable growth. And he is an advisory board member at the Museum of Brands, an Expert Advisor for the Future Strategy Club and has been awarded an honorary visiting fellowship by Edge Hill University Business School.   **PAUL'S LINKS** Paul Skinner Website - www.theaof.com Paul Skinner LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/paul-skinner-a73b8921 Paul Skinner Twitter - https://twitter.com/iPaulSkinner (twitter.com/iPaulSkinner) Paul Skinner Book available on Amazon- https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B077QGSLNB?pf_rd_r=3VS9DXRNRH9C1H75W4KD&pf_rd_p=6e878984-68d5-4fd2-b7b3-7bc79d9c8b60&pd_rd_r=2499fc9f-5573-4c59-a962-7df3162cb333&pd_rd_w=odJFH&pd_rd_wg=3rhaq&ref_=pd_gw_unk (Collaborative Advantage: How collaboration beats competition as a strategy for success ) Marketing Kind -www.marketingkind.org Marketing Kind Twitter - https://twitter.com/BeMarketingKind (twitter.com/BeMarketingKind) Marketing Kind LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/company/marketingkind ------------------------------------------------------------------ **FOLLOW US** INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - https://twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK (twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK) KARIM - https://twitter.com/karimkanji (twitter.com/karimkanji) PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com

In this episode, Karim speaks to Matteo Rizzi, FinTech Investor. Innotribe Co-Founder, ex SWIFT, Co-Founder FinTechStage.com. Matteo talks about the benefits of hiring talent with an entrepreneurial spirit and what executives need to do to nurture in-house talent. ABOUT MATTEO RIZZI Matteo is an unconventional entrepreneur and a book author with two decades of experience in Financial Services. For three years in a row (2014-2016), Financial News has nominated Matteo as one of the "40 most influential FinTech executives in Europe". In 2008 he co-founded Innotribe, the innovation arm of SWIFT, where Matteo worked for 13 years. He also launched the Innotribe Startup Challenge, the first global deal flow of its kind. He left SWIFT in 2013. From 2013 until 2015, Matteo was a Partner in SBT Venture Capital, one of the first funds (100M USD) solely dedicated to FinTech investment (Series A), building a portfolio of 12 start-ups. In 2015, Matteo created and co-founded www.FinTechStage.com, a platform for Investors, Innovators and start-ups to foster FinTech innovation globally, with some 50+ missions and events all over the world. Matteo founded the Timepledge.org initiative, a global program helping African entrepreneurs in several business domains, from product to strategy to channels management to investors pitching. He is the author or The FinTech Revolution (EGEAN, 2016, ITA) and Talent&Rebels (HOEPLI, 2019, ENG and ITA). Recently, Matteo took the position of Executive Producer of Breaking Banks Europe (a spin-off of Breaking Banks US) available on Soundcloud, iTunes, Spotify and Google Play. Matteo lives in Estoril (Portugal) speaks five languages, holds a University degree in Computer Science (University of Genova) and a Postgraduate in Financial Transactions (Solvay Business School). ------------------------------------------------------------- ** MATTEO'S LINKS** Read Matteo's book - Talents & Rebels: Dealing with Corporate Misfits Follow Matteo on Twitter - https://twitter.com/matteorizzi (@matteorizzi) Follow Matteo on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/matteorizziofficial/ (@Matteorizziofficial) Visit Matteo Rizzi's website - http://matteorizzi.me (http://matteorizzi.me) ----------------------------------------------------------------- **FOLLOW US** INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - https://twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK (twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK) KARIM - https://twitter.com/karimkanji (twitter.com/karimkanji) PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com

In the first interview for the 'What's Next podcast, Karim Kanji speaks to Jane Ractliffe, Co-Founder and MD of Standard Media Index. Jane gives us her insight and predictions for What's Next and why Australia/New Zealand is an excellent place for marketers to test and experiment whilst the rest of the world is still in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic. ABOUT JANE Jane runs the Australian and NZ operations of Standard Media Index, a global provider of real-time advertising expenditure data, a business she co-founded in 2009. A former media editor of The Australian, Jane's background is in media, a business journalist specialising in the sector for 15 years. Media remains Jane's passion, although these days she's focused on SMI's business development and innovating in the reporting of new and essential ad spend metrics. They've recently introduced the world's first Future Ad Demand data and are leading the way in reporting Digital Ad Formats (Online Video, Audio etc.) and Static and Digital Outdoor Ad format expenditure data. They're now working on the first pricing metric for Digital media. Jane has a BA (Journalism) and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment. Subscribe to our podcast in all the usual places https://www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com/listen (www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com/listen) --------------------------------------------------------- **JANE'S LINKS** Follow Jane on Twitter - https://twitter.com/JaneRactliffe (@JaneRactliffe) Follow Standard Media Index on Twitter https://twitter.com/SMI_Data (@SMI_Data) ------------------------------------------------------------------ **FOLLOW US** PODCAST WEBSITE - www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com INSTAGRAM - www.instagram.com/activeintworld TWITTER - https://twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK (twitter.com/ActiveIntlUK) KARIM - https://twitter.com/karimkanji (twitter.com/karimkanji)

What is this podcast about? We all need to be thinking about and preparing for What's Next in order to achieve more - and that's what this podcast is all about. We are seeking to gain a more diverse perspective on what will shape the future of marketing & advertising, one 15-minute conversation at a time. I'm your host Karim Kanji and I am excited to share talks I'll be having with thinkers around the world. If you're as curious as I am about what's next, join me and invest 15 minutes of your day exploring big ideas and innovative thoughts. www.thewhatsnextpodcast.com About Karim Karim has been successfully podcasting since 2010. First with the ‘Social Media Show' and then the popular ‘Welcome with Karim Kanji podcast' and a co-hosted show with Gregg Tilston, ‘Welcome to The Music'. 2021 sees Karim launching this new show ‘What's Next' with support from Active International where Karim is currently the Director of Emerging and Social Media. In his role within the advertising and marketing industry, Karim has worked with brands such as Popeyes Canada, Melitta, Ricola, 3M Canada, eOne, Nikon Canada, Jamieson Vitamins, Mark's, LG Electronics Canada, Muskoka Brewery, Post Cereals, Nestle Canada, Dell Canada, GE Canada, Scotiabank, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Microsoft Canada, and many others. About Active International Active International is a corporate trade company operating globally in the media industry, we created this podcast to as the question ... What's Next?