Tom Bedecarré is CEO of AKQA, the digital advertising agency that uses innovative ideas and technology to deliver results for the world’s top brands — including Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Nike, Schwab, Visa and Xbox. AKQA has more than 800 employees in Amsterdam, Berlin, London, New York, Shanghai, Washington D.C. and San Francisco where Tom leads the corporate team.

In this episode, Tom shares with us how digital advertising has evolved, why social media is becoming an ever-increasing part of the marketing mix and offers tips for employees who want to become entrepreneurs.

AKQA has been recognized numerous times as “Digital Agency of the Year” and was also recently named one of the Fast 50 – “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” by Fast Company magazine. The Wall Street Journal featured Tom as an “Admaker to Watch” and he is a frequent speaker at industry events. An enthusiastic entrepreneur, Tom was a founder and CEO of Citron Haligman Bedecarré, San Francisco’s largest independent advertising agency and a leader in launching Internet brands. Tom started his career in advertising on Madison Avenue at Ogilvy & Mather in New York and later returned home to San Francisco where he was a Vice President at Hal Riney & Partners. Tom holds a BA degree from Stanford University and an MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

When a marketing executive who manages some of the biggest brands on the planet takes time to share his opinion…odds are…there is something to learn! In this episode, we speak to Keith Levy, VP of Marketing for Anheuser-Busch. He shares with us his philosophy on brand building, creative, building his team, utilizing social media and the value of advertising in the Super Bowl.