Insights

On paper, it sounds like a dream. Move to a foreign country. Experience a new culture, one that might come with perks like a year’s worth of paid parental leave. But, as I’ve heard from my network time and time again, the lifestyle expats get to embrace often comes with hardships for their spouses. Moving abroad for a job opportunity often means one partner takes on the primary work-related responsibility, while the other’s career takes a backseat. This imbalance puts pressure on a single paycheck in many instances and has the potential to generate resentment from the non-working, or trailing,…

If you could attribute one other person or life event to your success, who or what would it be and why?  Quitting journalism was a pivotal moment for my success. During my time as a photojournalism student in University, I worked as a part-time stringer for national dailies. In my final year, I found myself covering a significant anti-government protest and submitted my story to one of India’s top and highly respected newspapers. They accepted it. However, when the article was published, it bore little resemblance to the truth—I discovered that the photos had been manipulated, and the text was…

No te apresures a despedir a tu talento. Un líder habilidoso resaltará las fortalezas y no se dará por vencido. Has incorporado a un nuevo empleado a tu organización con grandes expectativas de éxito. Sin embargo, en cuestión de meses, tú o quizás otros en tu organización, empiezan a sentir que las expectativas para esa contratación no se están cumpliendo. Antes de tomar una decisión drástica, ¿te has preguntado cuál es el margen de error cuando alguien no cumple con lo esperado? ¿Es cuestión de tirar la toalla y tomar otro camino? ¿O esperas a evaluar todas las dinámicas que…

If you could attribute another person or life event to your success, who or what would it be and why? Meeting each other 18 years ago. It kickstarted everything that brought us to where we are today. As a young creative team, we immediately shared a drive and passion for creating great work and a combined understanding of when we needed to keep pushing. This was critical as we grew into our roles as Partners/Executive Creative Directors in charge of an entire agency, and is even more relevant now as we get back to working as a creative team again…

Global Recruiting Firm Expands by Tapping Fresh Talent July 10, 2023 – New York, NY – Today, global recruiting firm Sasha the Mensch announces it has appointed Jose Raul Campos Mendez as its newest Advertising Recruiter. His responsibilities include sourcing and screening candidates, conducting interviews, and finding new job leads, all while building and maintaining candidate relationships. Based in Buenos Aires, Mendez will report to Founder and President Sasha Martens.  “Having started and scaled his career in Argentina, Jose brings a global perspective and the customer service skills necessary to succeed at Sasha the Mensch,” said Martens. “With his collaborative…

What has been the most challenging moment so far in your career?  My first day in an agency. I went from being a high school teacher and dance coach, to an Assistant Account Executive at age 30. An early mid-life crisis and career change. I’ve spent every day since making up for lost time, using nothing but my drive, hunger, and pure love for the work to prove that I belong here.    What is the very best feedback you’ve ever received? Early in my career, someone I highly respected told me that I “shovel a lot of shit.” Interestingly…

A few years ago, I worked with a really successful CCO. When he was looking for an ECD, I noticed that, anytime people were presented to him that were not within or tied to his network, every conversation began with why that person wouldn’t work. The negatives came into greater focus than the positives, driven by fear of the unknown. In the end, the firm hired someone inside the CCO’s network. Finding people you like to work with is hard, so, when you do, it makes sense that you want to cling onto that community as best you can. A…

If you could attribute one other person or life event to your success, who or what would it be and why? Success hardly ever happens overnight. It takes 10.000 hours to master a skill. But I did have a very defining moment a few years back, when I faced a major health scare in my family. Until then being a Creative had just been a fun job that I loved doing. The situation forced me to change how I viewed my career in order to support my family. And that led to my success. I finally had the skill set,…

For years, people have made sweeping declarations that the holding companies are over. Well, the holding companies aren’t going anywhere, but their role in the broader industry has certainly evolved. In 2014, Adweek questioned whether independent agencies could thrive in what it dubbed “the merger era,” a period of acquisition after acquisition that became a major marker of adland in the 2010s. The piece noted: “In 2013, the big six holding companies tallied 116 agency transactions—an average of about two per week.” Now, this trend has slowed as independent agencies assert their sustained value in the marketing ecosystem. Independents had a strong…