SPOS #632 – Rishad Tobaccowala Is The Oracle of Advertising

Welcome to episode #632 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #632 – Host: Mitch Joel. He is, without a doubt, the smartest thinker (and doer) in advertising. Over the years, I have been fortunate to call Rishad Tobaccowala a friend. Some know him best for calling advertising agencies “cockroaches,” while others appreciate his mentorship (he prides himself on helping advertising professionals in their professional development). For over 35 years he has held a myriad of roles at Publicis Groupe. Currently, he holds the title of Chief Growth Officer and member of the management board at Publicis. With that, he is an active investor and advisor in a range of startups and venture capital firms. If that were not enough, he also actively runs The Tobaccowala Foundation. I could not wait for the opportunity to talk with Rishad about the current (and volatile) state of advertising, the agency model, the holding companies and the many disruptions this industry now faces. Rishad was also a key figure in the recently published book, Frenemies by Ken Auletta, which all about the ad business (and an incredible read). Editorial note: we had some Skype challenges with this recording. I did my best to edit the audio and clean it up. Please stick with this. It is worth it. Enjoy the conversation…

• Running time: 49:48.
• Hello from beautiful Montreal.
• Subscribe over at iTunes.
• Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.
• Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
• or you can connect on LinkedIn.
• …or on Twitter.
• Here is my conversation with Rishad Tobaccowala.
• Publicis Groupe.
• Re-Inventing By @Rishad.
• The Tobaccowala Foundation.
• Frenemies.
• Follow Rishad on Twitter.
• This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #632 – Host: Mitch Joel.