Ep. 16 - Michael Greco

Andrew Hatfield is a product of the midwest who holds both honesty and integrity at his core. After graduating from high school in Gilbert, Iowa, he followed his dream to pursue a career in real estate in the Phoenix metro area.  He was motivated to start early and obtained his real estate sales license at the age of 18, enabling him to gain experience and be exposed early to the everyday obstacles one must overcome to be a successful Realtor.  At 21 Years old, He is committed to listening to his client's real estate needs and does not stop until those needs have been fulfilled.  Andrew is an associate with the Call Tattoo Real Estate Group, Gilbert, AZ. www.calltattoo.com

Hatem Dhiab is a Founding and Managing Partner at Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management; he has a unique background that enables him to appeal to clients from diverse backgrounds. Raised in a racially mixed family of bankers in Tunisia and France, he learned to be adaptable, self-reliant, and responsible from an early age.  Hatem moved to the US at the age of 18 to attend university and pursue his dream career on Wall Street. Hatem graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in International Business and Finance at CSULA. After college, he resolved to build a career in finance. With an aptitude for numbers and entrepreneurship, it was apparent that wealth & investment management were the most exciting and suitable places for his ethics and talents. This career path provided Hatem with the ability to grow personally, help real people with tangible goals and aspirations, research, and direct investments, and build long-lasting relationships. Hatem received a certificate in Personal Financial Planning from Bryant University, and he is a CFP® professional.

My guest this week is friend, colleague, and former Playa Vista, CA neighbor Mike Greco. Michael is a veteran of Chicago's famed Second City and ImprovOlympic. He's pitched products ranging from beer to fast food, to insurance.  He's lent his voice to everything from superheroes to animals, even a piece of pie.  He's done industrial films, narration, promos, video games, telephone systems, web sites, educational DVD's ... you name it, he's yapped for it.

Paul is the co-founder and Vice Chair of Mercy BioAnalytics. He began his career in 1986 as an investment banker with Citibank and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. He then served as the President of First Mercury Financial Corporation, a publicly traded insurance company.  He also co-founded and managed a private investment partnership – PWB Value Partners, L.P. – which began in 1995 with three investors and $3.2 million under management.  Over 14 years, the business grew to more than 80 investors and approximately $2.0 billion under management. Paul and his wife Amy are also the founders of the Blavin Scholars programs at the University of Michigan and Northern Arizona University, which provides  holistic, wrap around support to youth who have experienced foster care to achieve their dreams of a post-secondary education and a better life.  The Blavin Scholars Programs have supported over 100 scholars thus far with a graduation rate of approximately 95%.

Kimberley Gardiner is Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer of Tractor Supply Company since July 2022, and is a member of the Company's Executive Committee.  In this role, she leads the strategic marketing across all communication channels for national, regional, and local initiatives, as well as loyalty marketing through the Company's Neighbor's Club program. Prior to Tractor Supply, Kimberley has enjoyed a stellar career in automotive marketing with the likes of Toyota, Kia, and Volkswagen of America, where she served as Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President.

Dorian Graham is an Emmy & Peabody Award-winning television producer with proven success in content development from creative to distribution.  He's appeared in Above the Rim and Son of a Gun. He's produced on MTV's Wild'N Out, Son of A Gun, and Who's Got Next. In addition to shows such as, Nickelodeons' TeenNick Top 10, Showtime/Interscope's, The Next Episode, ESPN Hollywood, and many others. Dorian also served as Nick Cannon 'right hand" at Ncredible Entertainment and Viacom for 13 years. Dorian is best known in the industry as the consummate team player and brings great energy to all his projects.

My guest this week is Marisstella Marinkovic, a dynamic leader (positive in attitude, full of energy & ideas) with a track record of elevating & energizing multi-discipline teams to improve performance.  Marisstella's marketing communications experience spans over two decades working on some of the world's biggest brands. She is best known for developing effective, award-winning campaigns that have been recognized at Cannes, The Effies, One Show, Clios, and the NY Film Festival. Currently, she is Director Marketing Strategy & Operations at Kia Motors, America. Prior to Kia, Marisstella was Co-CEO at PITCH Advertising, partnering with clients from Fashion and Pharma to Fast Food. https://www.kia.com/us/en

My guest this week is Jaime Vasquez, a long time friend and colleague. Jaime is a 30+ year marketing, sales, & general management executive. He spent most of his career at PepsiCo where he held positions in Marketing, Sales, & Business Development at Pepsi-Cola North America, Frito Lay and PepsiCo Beverages Mexico. Following 17 years with Pepsi, Jaime joined a series of large companies to turnaround or start up their U.S. & Latin American operations including, LG Electronics Mexico, and Cricket Wireless.  Amongst other things, Jaime has spent the past seven years advising students, faculty, and the administration as well as lecturing on entrepreneurship & marketing at his graduate school alma mater, Georgetown University.  Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/generation-innovation/id1637519375?i=1000590011680

My guest this week on Generation Innovation is Jim Helberg, Executive Vice President and Chief Media Officer at RPA Advertising in Santa Monica, CA. Jim is best known for innovations in the automotive category across all tiers for brands including Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and Chrysler. He has also served in senior-level positions across a wide portfolio of consumer categories including CPG, airlines, toys, and financial services.    https://www.rpa.com/   Since 2014, Jim has also served as Professor of Media Strategy, at the University of Oklahoma in Norman.

Brian Sheehan is Professor of Advertising at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University. Brian teaches courses in advertising, advertising management, advertising strategy, digital advertising and international advertising. Prior to his switch to academia in 2008, Sheehan spent 25 years with Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising. After five years in S&S's New York headquarters, he spent the next 11 years overseas, working in S&S Hong Kong, and as CEO of S&S Japan and S&S Australia. He then spent nine years as chairman and CEO of Team One Advertising in Los Angeles (a division of Saatchi & Saatchi). In his career, Sheehan has worked with many top national and international brands, including Toyota, General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Hilton, British Airways, and IKEA. Sheehan has consulted for a number of national and international companies, including Petrobras, Brazil's national energy company and Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest bank. He has also been an advisory board member of a number of digital companies. In 2010, Sheehan published his first book, "Basics: Online Marketing." In 2011, he published his second book, "Basics: Marketing Management." In June 2013, he published his third book, "Loveworks: How the World's Best Marketers Make Emotional Connections to Win in the Marketplace."  In 2020, he published "Advertising: Selling in Today's World," an advertising textbook he co-authored with fellow Newhouse advertising professor Ed Russell.  The book is being used in over 30 universities.   Follow Brian on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-sheehan-29979b13