communications
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Leslie Licano and the art of getting out of the way
She built Beyond Fifteen Communications from a kitchen table with Lauren Ellermeyer. Learning to trust other people with the work became part of the business plan.
Jason Damata and the Art of Getting People in the Same Room
A Boston deli owner, a college magazine, and C-SPAN helped shape the founder of Fabric Media. His career keeps returning to a practical question: how do people learn enough about one another to build something together?
Rachel Kay sold the agency. She kept the instinct.
She built RKPR from a room in her house into a business with offices on two coasts. Joining FINN Partners changed Rachel Kay’s title, but her account of the work still includes cold calls, loyal colleagues and the occasional plumbing repair.
Brenna Bolger and the business of letting people in
Before founding PRxDigital, Brenna Bolger joined Santa Clara’s first undergraduate class to include women. Her career in Silicon Valley has returned to a practical question: who gets a place in the room?
Jenn DeMartino Callister and the art of getting people into the room
From Bungalow 8 to her own PR collective, Jenn DeMartino Callister has built a career around people, places and the stories that bring them together. At Hustle&Co., the guest list now stretches from music platforms to film studios - with room for a few rescue dogs.
John Weiss and the Business of a Good Introduction
Before his name was on an agency door, John Weiss was bringing people to the same table. From restaurant publicity to CURICH WEISS AMPLIFY, his career follows the possibilities of a well-made introduction.
Angie Wiles and the curious case of the disappearing office
She helped build Virgo Health into an international agency. Then Angie Wiles began asking how much of agency life the work actually needed.
Rudy Prince’s fax machine had an escape plan
He co-founded JetFax to improve fax hardware, then helped move the fax into email. Across Linux, Wi-Fi, mobile calling and sensing chips, Rudy Prince’s career traces the awkward gap between a new technology and the world that has to use it.
Greg Zilberfarb’s Thirteen-Year Lesson in Showing Up
Greg Zilberfarb earned his degree through 13 years of night classes while working and raising four children. The TSN Communications founder went on to build a virtual agency around experienced people, practical questions and work that could be measured.
Warren Johnson and the deal that stayed in the family
He built W Communications by following his appetite for business, from club nights to restaurant investments. Then Warren Johnson sold a majority stake to a trust for the people who worked beside him - and kept going.
Joe Boyd and the Art of Keeping the Door Open
A newspaper reporter became an agency founder. What stayed with the people around Joe Boyd was the welcome, the work, and the calls he kept taking.
Lisa Arledge Powell and the story that became a company
She set out to be a television journalist. A crib in the first office, a sharper focus on storytelling and nearly three decades at MediaSource made for a different assignment.
Everett Hamilton Jr. and the Art of Getting People in the Room
An event planner became a public relations founder by noticing what his work had in common. Now Everett Hamilton Jr.’s Washington career runs through community organizations, corporate communications and the business of telling a city’s story.
Teneshia Jackson Warner and the job offer she rewrote
She left IBM, worked for free, and turned a job offer into a pitch for her own company. At EGAMI Group, Teneshia Jackson Warner has kept asking brands - and dreamers - to look again.
Carme Miró and the business of being understood
Before APPLE TREE, Carme Miró helped build a consultancy around the promise of the mobile phone. Her next venture brought strategy, journalism and creativity to the same table - with kindness on the hiring checklist.
Barbara Goldberg and the Things a Paper Napkin Cannot Teach You
She helped sketch a PR agency into existence over lunch in 1993. Thirty-three years later, Barbara W. Goldberg is still finding teachers in unexpected places - including her own Monday staff meeting.
Amy Elias Asked the People Already in the Room
She built PROFILES from one client and helped a junior employee grow into its next CEO. At the Baltimore Museum of Art, Amy Elias asked another overlooked group to take a turn: the security guards.
Cynthia Moxley and the City That Kept Her on Deadline
She left the newsroom, built a public relations firm, and sold it to the people who knew it best. Through it all, Cynthia Moxley kept her eye on Knoxville - preferably from a table with good company.
Alastair Turner and the Icarus Problem
A school project about flying too close to the sun gave Aspectus’s Group CEO a useful business lesson. His career reveals the work of building confidence while keeping pride in check.
Why George Coleman keeps changing the script
An electronics engineer turned agency founder, George Coleman helped build Current Global. Now at The PHA Group, he is taking a familiar belief across the Atlantic: a good story should give people a reason to act.
Maria Consuelo Gónima knows who is listening
Before founding Big Smile Co., Maria Consuelo Gónima booked dance floors and helped explain new ways to watch. Her career keeps returning to the people on the other side of the experience.
Anna Pagava and the art of a better introduction
Before she brought Ukrainian makers to a New York exhibition floor, Anna Pagava produced television. At Gogola and I Am U Are, she puts that experience to work on a larger question: how do you help an audience see a country afresh?
Joy Scott and the case for leaving something on the table
Joy Scott built a public relations agency around getting ideas heard. Her writing, family rituals and civic projects ask a harder question: what happens after people stop listening to one another?
Frank C. Girardot and the stories that refuse to end
A mother’s unanswered questions helped launch a countywide murder investigation. For the journalist, author and Pegasus Communications founder, the next story has often begun where someone else stopped looking.
Amanda Silverman and the six-minute problem
When an artist has several careers at once, someone has to keep the story together. Amanda Silverman built her working life, and helped build The Lede Company, around that moving target.
Darcy Palder and the trouble with first impressions
Before her work at Meta, Darcy Palder reported on politics, helped defend a bus route and studied in a city in revolt. Her own writing keeps returning to a deceptively difficult question: who gets to speak for whom?
Santiago Pujadas and the business of sticking to the fundamentals
From a Westinghouse robotics business to Zer0 to 5ive and Imagine Pharma, Santiago Pujadas has spent his career connecting strategy with the work of running a company. His favorite lesson is five words long.
Robert Vis and the message that refused to arrive
A failed text message helped Robert Vis find his business. Fifteen years later, the Bird co-founder is still working on the same irritation: why is talking to a company so much harder than talking to a friend?
Katie Harvey and the art of letting go
She started a San Antonio PR firm at 24 with $2,000. Three decades later, Katie Harvey’s more interesting project is learning how to share the company, the decisions, and the microphone.
Before Lisa Frank Said Yes, There Were Eight Meetings
Lisa Frank helped build Derris from a shared Manhattan workspace into a brand consultancy with offices in New York and London. Her path to CEO began with a decision that took some persuading - and a habit of asking what is worth saying.