What do agency leaders need right now? According to Ross Martin, maybe “a sanity check and a lobotomy.”
Funny, yes. Also not entirely wrong.
In this special episode of Marketing Vanguard, host Jenny Rooney spotlights the launch of ADWEEK’s Agencies Vanguard program with three founding members: Jessica Henrichs, CEO of DonerColle Partners; Ross Martin, president of Known; and Chioma Aduba, president of Droga5.
Together, they unpack why agency leadership has become one of the most complex jobs in business, why competitors need spaces for radical honesty, and why the future of agencies cannot be solved in isolation.
What you’ll learn:
- Why agency leaders need perspective, not just certainty
- How leaders can build organizations that adapt through change
- Why agency executives need safe spaces for honest conversation
- How competitors can collaborate on shared industry challenges
- Why agency business models are facing structural pressure
- What diverse agency models can learn from one another
- Why the industry needs to decide what agencies should be known for next
About the guests:
Jessica Henrichs is the CEO of DonerColle Partners and one of the founding members of Adweek’s Agencies Vanguard program. In this episode, she brings a clear perspective on adaptive leadership, the value of peer support and why agency leaders need to build belief through change rather than pretend they have every answer.
Ross Martin is the president of Known and a founding member of Agencies Vanguard. Known for his candid take on the agency industry, Ross brings a sharp view on the structural challenges facing agencies today, from outdated business models to the bigger question of what the industry wants to stand for next.
Chioma Aduba is the president of Droga5 and a founding member of Agencies Vanguard. In this conversation, she speaks to the value of transparency, cross-agency community and creating an industry that feels like it is in good hands for the next generation of creative talent.
Episode Highlights:
[03:10] Why Leaders Need Perspective, Not Certainty — Jessica Henrichs opens with a line that cuts through the usual leadership cosplay: leaders do not need to pretend they have every answer. What they do need is perspective. For agency leaders, the job now is to build organizations that can adapt, give people confidence through change and create belief in where the business is headed. That kind of leadership requires fearlessness, not because leaders are never unsure, but because they have to keep moving people through discomfort anyway.
