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PODCAST

The Immortal Life of Agencies

Fancy a bit more positivity around the business of running an agency? Welcome to Co:definery’s podcast ‘The Immortal Life of Agencies’. Here we celebrate the visionaries and change-makers who are actively future-proofing the agency sector. Each episode features our CEO Robin Bonn having short, sharp conversations - sometimes even friendly arguments - with some of the biggest, broadest and deepest thinkers in our industry. These are the leaders who’ve been there, done that and are happy to

business marketing

All Episodes

33:29

The Working Assembly's Founder: From side hustle to...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/10/06

Today’s guest is Jolene Delisle, Founder of The Working Assembly, the New York-based design-led creative agency she built around a simple idea – assemble the right people around the problem, rather than force every client through the same agency model.Jolene reflects on the unconventional origins of the business, which began as a side hustle while she was working at Meta and pregnant with her daughter. She explains how her Korean origins, adoption and early experience of using art as a form of

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49:24

The Intangibles' Founding Partner: Unlocking the...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/09/29

Today’s guest is Jon Wilkins, best known for co-founding Naked Communications and now a founding partner at The Intangibles.First Jon reflects on what made Naked distinctive – not least how they attracted “brilliant misfits”, protected their culture as they expanded internationally, and built trust by putting client interests first.We also explore his transition via Karmarama into Accenture, helping lead the multi-billion dollar acquisition spree that ultimately built Accenture Song, and arguably

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44:32

isobel’s Managing Partner: Why isobel Chose to Start...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/09/22

Today’s guest is Jamie Williams, Managing Partner at Isobel, the independent agency that’s recently repositioned itself as ‘the brand reset company’.Jamie explains what prompted the change and how it’s designed to capitalise on what the agency does best, as well as reflect where they believe the market is heading.He also shares how productisation helped turn their refined proposition into a clear, three-stage offer, while also making change easier for the team to embrace.This candid conversation

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51:26

4As’ CEO: The opportunity in change – Justin...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/09/15

Today’s guest is seasoned agency leader, Justin Thomas-Copeland – now CEO of the 4As – unpacking their transformation from agency trade body into a more proactive, service-led organisation.He explains why agencies also need to look in the mirror, identify what they’re genuinely brilliant at and resist the temptation to be everything for everyone. Justin shares how specialisation strengthens culture and commercial performance, and why confidence is often a reward rather than a prerequisite.He also

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40:12

Beers with Friends' Founder: Serving creativity on...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/09/08

Today’s guest is Dana Hork, Founder of Beers with Friends, the sprint-based creative agency that makes creative firepower available on tap.Drawing on her experience as a brand-side marketer at Jet.com, Walmart and Wonder, Dana explains why she felt the traditional agency model was no longer keeping pace with modern marketing.That’s why Beers with Friends takes a radically different approach – working with one client at a time, bringing the right talent around the table and compressing high-stakes

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39:24

Generation Media's Group Managing Director: Embracing...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/08/18

Today’s guest is Lisa Morgan, Group Managing Director at Generation Media, the independent media agency specialising in children, youth, communities and fandom.Lisa explains why AI should redesign entry-level roles rather than replace them, liberating people from repetitive processes to focus on using their brains.She shares how Generation Media identifies and develops young talent, balancing curiosity and technological confidence with human skills such as critical thinking, judgement and attention

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34:23

Saatchi & Saatchi's CEO: Reviving an icon – Claire...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/08/11

Today’s guest is Claire Hollands, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, one of the most iconic agency brands in advertising.Claire unpacks how she revitalised this “legacy brand” by giving its most famous belief – ‘Nothing is impossible’ – renewed meaning for a more client-centric age.She describes creating an operating model around realising impossible ambitions – from seeking clients at transformative moments to setting a clearer creative standard and giving every employee their own ‘impossible

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47:13

X&O's Co-Founders: Embracing your superpowers – Eric...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/08/04

Today’s guests are Eric Segal and Brett Banker, Co-Founders of X&O – the sprint-based agency with an expert-only model, bringing together specialist talent to solve client challenges in double quick time.Drawing on more than 20 years leading teams inside traditional agencies, they share why they chose not to replicate what exists, but to rethink how the work gets done.Brett and Eric explore the shift from selling time to selling outcomes, why conviction matters more than compromise when defining

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40:09

Digitas EMEA's CEO: Meeting clients where they’re at...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/07/28

Today’s guest is Sam Hawkey, CEO EMEA at Digitas and former CEO of both Saatchi & Saatchi and AMV BBDO. He shares his perspective on how clients and agencies must evolve together.He talks about prioritising genuine client fit – getting beyond the excitement to really understanding the likelihood of working well together. Sam unpacks his two most important criteria – the client's readiness for change and their willingness to adopt new commercial models.He also talks about the impact of genuine

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39:03

Acceleration Community of Companies' Founder & CEO:...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/07/21

Today’s guest is Michael Nyman, Founder and CEO of the Acceleration Community of Companies (ACC), an agency group designed specifically in response to the traditional holding company model.Having spent his prior career within that model, Michael explains that clients now demand speed, specialist expertise and a deeper consumer insight. So rather than accepting internal competition, ACC is optimised for collaboration and an advisory-first approach that solves client problems before deciding how to

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47:23

Ogilvy's Former CEO EMEA: Pivoting a life and an...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/07/14

Today's guest is Patou Nuytemans, former CEO of Ogilvy EMEA, whose remarkable 30-year journey from intern to regional chief has given her a rare perspective on leadership, reinvention and the future of agencies.Patou reflects candidly on the emotional reality of leaving the business that shaped her, explaining how heartbreak became gratitude and ultimately inspired a new chapter of reflection and writing.She believes that agencies don't have a creativity problem, they have a value problem. Patou

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43:31

Don't Forget to Look's Founder: Crack the Procurement...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/07/07

Today’s guest is Stuart Dunk, a former marketing procurement leader at the likes of Nike, Reckitt and Danone. He now runs his own consultancy, Don't Forget to Look.Procurement remains one of the most misunderstood client-side functions. Stuart offers a rare insider’s perspective on what agencies get wrong and how they can engage more effectively with the people influencing buying decisions.He explains why not all procurement professionals think alike, how agencies can diagnose procurement culture

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44:14

Boathouse's CEO: Going back to basics – John Connors

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/06/30

Today’s guest is John Connors, CEO of the Boston-based, full-service agency, Boathouse.John argues that agencies have become too transactional, weakening client relationships as well as their impact on business outcomes. So he’s built a client-centric culture that deeply understands the drivers of commercial performance.The conversation explores the disconnect between client-side CEOs and CMOs, and how to justify brand investment alongside digital media.Thoughtful, practical and optimistic, this is

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36:00

Main Character's Co-Founders: Making the impossible...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/06/16

Today’s guests are Courtney Worthman and Stacey Gersten, Co-Founders of Main Character, the celebrity partnership specialists helping brands stop buying celebrities and start buying into culture.Drawing on two decades of experience across entertainment, advertising and PR, Courtney and Stacey explain why moving ‘at the speed of culture’ has become a practical necessity and how building celebrity partnerships has evolved into a quantitative science.We explore the balance between data and instinct,

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38:16

Bakery Agency's CEO: What clients don’t understand...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/06/09

Today’s guest is Micky Ogando, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of the 80-person, Austin-based independent creative agency, Bakery.Unpacking the trend of big brands choosing indies, Micky explains why many clients misunderstand what they’re actually buying when they swap HoldCo. polish for opinionated misfits, and how this friction can be channeled into better work.The conversation also covers how Bakery vets potential clients and when agency owners should evolve beyond improvising in their early days

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40:14

Eidra's Co-CEO: How pragmatism drives growth – Måns Hosk

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/06/02

Today’s guest is Måns Hosk, Co-CEO of Eidra, the Swedish consultancy collective that’s grown from five founding businesses into a 1,500-person organisation spanning Europe and the US.Måns shares how Eidra was built around a simple idea: modern client challenges rarely fit neatly into a single discipline. He explains how strategy, creativity, technology, data and AI have been brought together to solve broader business problems, while maintaining the specialist expertise clients still value.The

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48:14

Huge's CEO: When everything changes all at once –...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/05/19

Today’s guest is Josh Campo, CEO of Huge. And if you think your to-do list is long, you might need to reconsider.On top of the wider market disruption, Josh is overseeing all manner of change – still fresh from exiting IPG, Huge is navigating PE-ownership, integrating with Hero Digital and continuing its productisation journey.On the integration with Hero, he explains why successful integration requires a complete rebirth of culture, not just simply blending two organisations together.Pragmatic,

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45:01

Koto’s CEO: How client-centricity drives growth –...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/05/12

Today’s guest is James Greenfield, Co-Founder and CEO of Koto, the globally recognised branding agency working with companies like Netflix, Spotify and Google.James explains how listening closely to client needs has shaped the agency’s evolution, remaining anchored in brand, but also delivering high quality campaigns and digital products.The conversation also explores how Koto’s buyer landscape is changing, with CEOs now far more involved in decisions traditionally owned by marketing teams. James

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44:22

Parakeeto's CEO: The simplest path to profit – Marcel...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/04/28

Today’s guest is Marcel Petitpas, CEO of Parakeeto – the agency profitability specialists. He brings a clear and often counterintuitive perspective on how agencies actually make money.Marcel challenges one of the industry’s most deeply held assumptions, arguing that most agencies don’t have a revenue problem, they have an operational one. Through the lens of what he calls “indigestion, not starvation”, he explains why growth alone rarely fixes profitability, and how flawed frameworks around

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39:45

Accenture's Head of Innovation: The changing face of...

The Immortal Life of Agencies ·

2026/04/21

Today’s guest is Enda King, Head of Innovation for Communications, Media and Technology at Accenture. Having also worked in media, advertising and brand, he offers a rare perspective on the convergence of agencies and consultancies.Enda describes how innovation has shifted from long-term strategy decks to faster, more adaptive thinking based on experimentation, collaboration and real-world testing. He explains why clients no longer look for fixed answers but for the capability to continuously sense,

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