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Vivian Mohr is Chief Operating Officer of Bauer Media Group, one of Europe’s largest media businesses, operating across radio, publishing, digital platforms and outdoor advertising. Before joining Bauer, he built his career across consulting, technology and media, including leadership roles at McKinsey, Comparis and major European media organisations.
In this episode of Mentor, Vivian reflects on the experiences that shaped his leadership philosophy, from growing up between Germany and the United States, studying in Dubai and Cambridge, to leading transformation programmes across international businesses. He shares why some of the most important career opportunities are often the ones that feel uncomfortable, and how stepping into roles he felt unprepared for accelerated his growth.
Vivian explains why even the best strategies fail without belief, alignment and execution. He reveals the three qualities he believes every leader must balance: clarity, courage and humility. He also discusses the importance of psychological safety, building trust across cultures, bringing people with you through change, and why leadership is less about having all the answers and more about creating an environment where great ideas can emerge.
Along the way, he shares lessons learned from McKinsey, the career mistake that taught him the importance of taking people on the journey, and why meeting people where they are is one of the most underrated leadership skills.
Whether you're leading a team, navigating a career transition, managing change or aspiring to senior leadership, this conversation is packed with practical wisdom from a leader responsible for helping shape the future of one of Europe’s most influential media companies.
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Mark Howe spent 17 years at Google helping agencies and brands navigate one of the biggest transformations in media history. Before that, he built a successful career across television, media sales and leadership, giving him a front-row seat to decades of industry change.
In this episode of Mentor, Mark reflects on the pivotal moments that shaped his career, from leaving traditional television for Google at a time when many thought he was making a mistake, to navigating difficult leadership challenges, industry disruption and periods of intense personal pressure.
Mark shares why authenticity became his greatest professional asset, how trust is built over decades rather than transactions, and why the best leaders surround themselves with people who are smarter than they are. He also opens up about career-defining setbacks, the importance of resilience, lessons learned from Google’s culture, and the difficult balance between professional success and family life.
Along the way, he reveals the story behind escaping Alcatraz three times, the leadership lesson that changed his perspective forever, and why "being the best you can be at what you're best at" remains his guiding principle.
Whether you're leading teams, building a business, navigating change or simply looking to make better career decisions, this conversation is packed with practical wisdom from someone who has spent decades at the highest levels of media and technology.
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Judith Salison OBE joins MENTOR to share the lessons, leadership principles and career wisdom gained from more than five decades at the forefront of the advertising and media industry. From becoming one of the first female television sales executives in Britain to co-founding one of the UK's pioneering outdoor advertising businesses, Judith reflects on the determination, resilience and adaptability that shaped her career.
She discusses the realities of building confidence in male-dominated environments, the importance of earning trust through expertise, and how a willingness to embrace change helped her navigate an industry undergoing constant transformation. Judith shares the story behind launching Harrison Salison, the challenges of entrepreneurship, and the experience of growing and eventually selling the business after more than a decade of success.
The conversation explores the role of mentorship throughout a career, why the best mentors are often those willing to challenge your assumptions, and how honest feedback can shape important decisions. Judith also reflects on her long-standing involvement with WACL and NABS, the progress made for women in leadership, and the challenges that still remain around ageism, inclusion and workplace culture.
Along the way, she offers practical advice on career fulfilment, knowing when it's time to move on, building meaningful professional relationships and supporting the next generation. Asked what advice she would give her younger self, Judith's answer is simple but powerful: always stand up for yourself.
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Richard Eyre CBE joins MENTOR to share the leadership lessons, career decisions and hard-won wisdom that shaped a remarkable journey across advertising, broadcasting, television and digital media. From his early days in advertising at BBH to leading Capital Radio, ITV and some of the most influential organisations in British media, Richard reflects on the opportunities, setbacks and pivotal moments that defined his career.
He explains why careers are rarely as planned as they appear, how some of his biggest opportunities emerged from disappointment, and why the ability to adapt matters more than having a perfectly mapped-out strategy. Richard shares candid stories from boardrooms, merger negotiations and leadership roles at the highest level, including the lessons learned from missed opportunities, difficult decisions and managing competing interests under intense pressure.
The conversation explores the realities of leadership, from balancing confidence with self-doubt to building influence as an introvert, attracting great talent and learning from people whose strengths differ from your own. Richard also discusses the importance of visibility, mentorship, risk-taking and why some of the most valuable career decisions come from following curiosity rather than certainty.
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Laura Desmond joins MENTOR to share the leadership lessons that shaped her journey from rising through the advertising industry to becoming CEO of Smartly and one of the most respected figures in global media and marketing. Having led some of the world’s biggest agency businesses at Publicis Groupe and Starcom MediaVest Group, Laura reflects on the defining moments, risks and reinventions that helped her navigate decades of transformation across advertising, technology and leadership.
She explains why great leadership starts with purpose, why the hardest problems always reach the CEO, and how embracing innovation before the rest of the industry became one of the defining themes of her career. Laura also opens up about the realities of operating at the top level — from managing pressure and making high-stakes decisions to balancing ambition, culture and human connection in an increasingly digital world.
The conversation explores the future of advertising in the age of AI, the shift from smart targeting to intelligent creative, and why trust, storytelling and collaboration still matter more than ever. Honest, insightful and full of practical wisdom, this is a conversation about leadership, reinvention, technology and building winning teams in times of constant change.
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Piers North joins MENTOR to share the leadership lessons that shaped his journey from aspiring journalist to CEO of Reach PLC, the UK’s largest commercial news publisher. Having started his career in journalism before moving into the rapidly evolving world of digital media at Yahoo, Piers reflects on the setbacks, risks and pivotal moments that ultimately led him to the top of one of Britain’s biggest media businesses.
He explains why storytelling remains the most important skill in leadership, why redundancy taught him more than success ever could, and how leading a public company means constantly balancing short-term pressure with long-term vision. Piers also opens up about the realities of being CEO — from loneliness and difficult decision-making to managing stress, building trust and staying grounded when everyone around you sees the title before the person.
The conversation explores the future of journalism in the age of AI, the challenges facing trusted media, and why accountable reporting still matters in a world increasingly driven by platforms and creators. Honest, thoughtful and full of practical insight, this is a conversation about leadership, resilience, modern media and navigating uncertainty at the highest level.
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Kerry Glazer joins MENTOR to share the leadership lessons that shaped her extraordinary journey from NHS nurse to one of the most respected figures in the UK advertising industry. Former CEO of AAR and recipient of an OBE for services to advertising and charity, Kerry reflects on the moments, mentors and challenges that defined her career across nearly five decades.
She explains why the best leaders lead with kindness, why shaking up the status quo is essential for real change, and how resilience, empathy and generosity became the foundation of her leadership style. Kerry also opens up about imposter syndrome at the highest levels of business, balancing leadership with motherhood, creating healthier workplace cultures, and the industry-wide work behind Time To, the initiative tackling sexual harassment in advertising.
Honest, thoughtful and full of practical wisdom, this is a conversation about leadership, culture, courage and building a career that creates lasting impact.
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Alessandra Bellini joins MENTOR to share what it really takes to lead through constant change at some of the world’s biggest consumer brands. From starting as an advertising apprentice in Italy to leading customer strategy at Tesco and spending more than two decades at Unilever, she reflects on the defining moments, mistakes, and leadership lessons that shaped her career.
She explains why marketers must think like business leaders, how to build trust and influence at board level, and what she learned navigating COVID, Brexit, and the cost-of-living crisis at Tesco. Honest, thoughtful, and packed with practical wisdom, this is a masterclass in leadership, resilience, and keeping your feet on the ground when the pressure is highest.
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Matt Brittin joins MENTOR to share what it really takes to lead one of the world’s most influential companies. From Olympic-level sport to running Google across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, he reflects on the highs, failures, and defining moments of his career.
He breaks down how to build high-performing teams, why owning mistakes matters, and the simple leadership principle he learned from Larry Page: put the best people on the most important work—and get out of the way. Straight-talking and full of insight, this is leadership without the fluff.
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Martha Lane Fox joins MENTOR for a brutally honest conversation on building Lastminute.com, surviving the dot-com crash, bouncing back from life-changing adversity, and redefining success on her own terms. She shares her advice for young entrepreneurs, why focus and grit matter more than a perfect plan, and why she believes you should keep part of yourself back at work. Candid, wise, and full of real-world lessons, this is one of our most inspiring episodes yet.
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Rory Sutherland has spent decades at the heart of creativity and behavioural insight as Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, and as one of the most distinctive voices to appear on stages like TED. But in this conversation, we go far deeper than his well-known ideas on psychology and perception.
In this episode of Mentor, Rory opens up about the role of serendipity in his career — how chance encounters, unexpected missteps and playful curiosity shaped his path more than any strategic masterplan ever could.
We also explore why he believes neurodiversity is a feature, not a bug. Rory argues that organisations thrive when they embrace unusual thinkers, outliers and people whose minds don’t follow the standard linear route — because that’s where originality actually lives.
And in a classic Rory provocation, he proposes that every company should run with two boards: one focused on cost, systems and operations… and another focused entirely on customers, opportunity and growth. It’s a bold idea that reframes how organisations make decisions — and who they listen to.
This is a conversation about creativity, chance, misfits, and the surprising forces that shape a meaningful career. It’s wise, funny, challenging, and full of Rory at his most candid.
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Bruce Daisley LIVE! — one of the UK’s most influential voices on fixing work — joins us on stage in front of 200 people for the first MENTOR Live at Adwanted Future of Media event.
Recognised by LinkedIn as one of the world’s top 10 voices on the future of work, Bruce has led Twitter and YouTube across Europe, written the Financial Times-acclaimed book Fortitude, and hosts the #1 Apple business podcast Eat Sleep Work Repeat.
We dive into the myth of resilience, how workplaces can rebuild real connection, and why joy, trust, and laughter are the true foundations of strong teams.
A bold, essential conversation about how work broke — and how we can fix it.
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In this episode, hosts Marco Bertozzi and Rachel Forde are joined by Leigh Thomas, a dynamic leader whose career spans top creative agencies and some of the world’s most influential tech platforms. Now serving as Vice President EMEA at Intuit (Mailchimp, Quickbooks etc).
We dive into leadership, creativity, transformation, and the evolving role of technology in business — all through the lens of someone who has led at the highest levels of both agency and tech.
Before stepping into the fintech space, Leigh spent more than 20 years shaping the creative industry. She held senior leadership roles at renowned agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, where she served as Managing Director, and Dare, where as CEO she guided the agency through a strategic transformation and acquisition. Her ability to bridge creativity, digital innovation and commercial impact later led her to Meta, where she worked as Director of Global Client Partnerships across EMEA, supporting major brands navigating the rapidly shifting world of digital and social media.
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In today’s episode, we had the privilege of speaking with Stephen Miron, one of the most respected and well-liked figures in British media — the long-time CEO, and soon-to-be Chairman, of Global, the powerhouse behind Capital, Heart, LBC, Classic FM, DAX, and one of Europe’s largest outdoor networks.
Over 16 years, Stephen has helped transform Global from a £200 million radio group into a billion-pound, multi-platform media organisation. His leadership has shaped how millions of us consume audio and media every single day.
For me, there was something incredibly powerful in what Stephen shared — the idea that you have to know when to exit stage left. It’s about trust, timing, and the courage to let others lead.
Marco put it brilliantly: “Disrupt yourself before someone else does.” It’s not just a business mantra — it’s a life philosophy.
Stay tuned for a conversation full of wisdom on leadership, disruption, evolution, and knowing when to pass the baton.
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From Ogilvy to Publicis to Accenture Song, Dame Annette King has led some of the biggest transformations in the marketing world — fusing creativity, technology and commercial impact. In this episode of MENTOR, she reflects on a career defined by reinvention, resilience and relentless drive.
Annette shares how she built high-performing teams obsessed with winning pitches, learned to balance ambition with wellbeing after decades at the top, and why true leadership is about staying human through constant change. She opens up about navigating a career in motion, mentoring the next generation, and leading with clarity and compassion, even when the pressure’s on.
This is a candid, energising conversation about success, sustainability, and finding meaning beyond the metrics.
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In this episode, Bruce Daisley — one of the UK’s most influential voices on fixing work — joins us to unpack what that really means.
Recognised by LinkedIn as one of the world’s top 10 voices on the future of work, Bruce has led Twitter and YouTube across Europe, written the Financial Times-acclaimed book Fortitude, and hosts the #1 Apple business podcast Eat Sleep Work Repeat.
We dive into the myth of resilience, how workplaces can rebuild real connection, and why joy, trust, and laughter are the true foundations of strong teams.
A bold, essential conversation about how work broke — and how we can fix it.
PDF about how to launch a book : http://eatsleepworkrepeat.com/bestseller
The Joy of Work : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Joy-Work-Business-Bestseller-Culture/dp/1847942393
Fortitude : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fortitude-Unlocking-Secrets-Inner-Strength/dp/B09MJJ2T4X
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Nick Beighton (ex-CEO of ASOS) drops a leadership masterclass: why culture really does eat strategy, how “purpose drives profit,” and the experimental mindset that helped scale ASOS from £223M to nearly £4B. Rachel and Marco dig into decision frameworks, data-driven experimentation (down to the Add-to-Bag button), buying Topshop, progressive people policies, and the “Magpie Moment” that shaped ASOS’s purpose: giving people the confidence to be whoever they want to be. Plus: learning to pivot, managing imposter syndrome, and the decade-by-decade career roadmap (learn, experiment, double-down, give back).
If you enjoy Mentor, follow and share with someone navigating their own leadership path. For exec search & consulting: visit https://thezoo.london/
Chapters:
0:00 - Welcome & why Mentor (hard-earned wisdom)4:04 - Guest intro: Nick Beaton’s path to ASOS & beyond5:28 - Career snapshot & early lessons14:23 - Retail wake-up: live in the numbers, think like the customer15:15 - Making failure safe: ASOS’s annual “f***-up” list20:49 - Decision model: customer, people, brand → then finance27:09 - The Topshop acquisition: full-circle strategy44:00 - The Magpie Moment: purpose = “confidence to be whoever you want to be”51:54 - Advice to 25-year-old self: back yourself, pivot, pursue purpose
A Viral Tribe Production
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Kathleen Saxton (psychotherapist, ex-Global CMO, and author) joins Marco Bertozzi and Rachel Forde for a masterclass in mentorship and leadership. From “don’t be a passenger” to building “the board you can’t afford,” Kathleen shares battle-tested tactics from 30+ years across agencies, media owners, entrepreneurship and psychotherapy. They cover asking senior leaders for time (and getting a yes), getting in the right rooms, avoiding performative vulnerability, recovering from career missteps, trusting your gut in hiring, and her new books on narcissism, recovery and modern leadership.
If you enjoyed this, follow Mentor on Apple & Spotify, subscribe on YouTube, and tell us your best mentor advice in the comments!
Recorded at Viral Tribe Studios in Soho
Buy Kathleen’s book, here
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Advertising legend Sir John Hegarty (co-founder of BBH) joins hosts Marco Bertozzi and Rachel Forde for a masterclass in creativity, brand building and brave decision-making. From getting fired at 21 to launching BBH and shaping culture with Levi’s, BA and more, Sir John Hegarty shares why irreverence matters, how to build movements (not ads), and why, yes, even in the age of AI, the people closest to the idea will win!
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Recorded at Viral Tribe Studios in Soho.
Chapters
0:00 — Welcome & why Hegarty matters (plus teaser)
3:01 — Sir John’s bio & early years in advertising
5:31 — Career in 60 seconds
7:09 — Fired young: conviction over comfort
16:25 — Irreverence & the Black Sheep philosophy
25:09 — Brands as culture: trust, authenticity & “stop stalking”
28:10 — Building The Business of Creativity & the Whalar deal
34:29 — AI: stay closest to the idea (real advice for creatives & CMOs)
47:50 — Founding BBH: no-spec pitches, principles & brand lessons
1:05:44 — Mentorship, no regrets & “Timing is everything”
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Karen Blackett CBE joins Rachel Ford and Marco Bertozzi for a masterclass in modern leadership. From “learn, earn, serve” to “two ears, one mouth,” Karen breaks down the habits that build winning, heads-up teams. We get real on mentors vs sponsors, a pitch lost to bias (and how to let it go), inclusion that drives performance, and what it’s like to lead 13,000 people at WPP. Karen also shares how she managed leaving, grief and all, plus sport, parenting, and the global mindset she wishes she’d adopted sooner.
Recorded at Viral Tribe Studios in Soho
Chapters:
00:00 – Welcome & show setup
00:28 – Karen Blackett: bio & mantra
03:30 – Career in 60 seconds
11:21 – “Two ears, one mouth”
13:30 – Belonging & finding your tribe
20:37 – Mentors vs sponsors
24:46 – The pitch lost to bias
29:47 – Inclusion that drives growth
38:38 – Change: on/off/at the bus stop
43:17 – Leaving WPP & advice at 25
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