EP126: Russell Wallach, President, Live Nation

As President of Live Nation, Russell Wallach, and his team of over 400 oversee the world’s largest live entertainment company. On this episode of Great Minds, Russell dives into the inner workings of operating a live entertainment business and takes us through the career path he took to get here.

EP125: Kevin McGurn, President of Sales and Distribution, Vevo

Vevo’s President of Sales and Distribution, Kevin McGurn, joins us for this episode of Great Minds to discuss the past, present, and future of Vevo, the world’s leading music video network.

EP124: Matt Gourley, Actor, Comedian, and Podcaster

Today on Great Minds, we’re pleased to welcome actor, comedian, and podcasting trailblazer Matt Gourley of the Superego and Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend Podcasts. Matt discusses his career path from the early days to present, with a stop as Volkswagen spokesperson along the way.

EP123: Raja Rajamannar, Author and Chief Marketing & Communications Officer and President, Healthcare Business, Mastercard

A single episode of Great Minds is not nearly enough to cover the extraordinary career path of Mastercard’s Raja Rajamannar. Raja covers his early career path to his most recent endeavor, his best-selling book Quantum Marketing in this part one of an inevitable two-part Great Minds profile of one of marketing’s truly greatest minds.

EP122: Colin Blunstone, Singer, Songwriter, Musician

As lead singer of the rock band The Zombies, Colin Blunstone’s voice has been featured on many of rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest recordings. In this special episode of Great Minds, Blunstone, a Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame inductee, takes us through his career, from the early days to present.

EP121: Alex Schultz, Chief Marketing Officer and VP of Analytics, Facebook

On this episode of Great Minds, Alex Schultz of Facebook discusses how he brought his nearly two decades of direct response marketing experience to his CMO role, and what it’s like to be responsible for the global consumer marketing organization, promoting Facebook’s brands, products and services.

EP120: Dave Keyes – Keyboardist, Singer, Songwriter

“King of the Keys,” New York City native Dave Keyes is a music veteran with as many accolades as he has stories. On this episode of Great Minds, Dave shares many of those stories from his incredible career.

EP119: The Next 50

This episode of Great Minds takes a rare dive into the world of politics, featuring Zak Malamed, Cofounder and Executive Director of The Next 50, and Abby Finkenauer, The Next 50’s Senior Advisor (as well as former and possibly future member of the House of Representatives). Topics include midterm elections, the state of our country, and much more.

EP118: Ed Asner, Film and Television Actor (Re-Post)

This episode was previously published on June 15, 2021. We’re republishing in memory of Ed Asner, who passed on August 29, 2021 at age 91.

Legendary film and television actor Ed Asner joins Great Minds to discuss his phenomenal career. From his early days working in film with the likes of Elvis Presley and John Wayne, to his two award-winning television shows, Mary Tyler Moore and Lou Grant, and on to present day in beloved films such as Elf and Pixar’s Up.

EP117: Michelle Bandler, Managing Director of Tech B2B, Google

Part 1 of our 4-part Great Minds podcast mini-series with Google kicks off with this interview with Michelle Bandler, Managing Director of Tech B2B at Google. In this special episode, Michelle takes us through her career from the very beginning to the present day and her 15+ years at Google.

EP116: Jimmy Waldo, Keyboard Player and Singer

Seminar rock keyboardist Jimmy Waldo joins this episode of Great Minds to discuss his decades long career in such bands as Alcatrazz, New England, and Blackthorne, as well as the many amazing musicians he’s collaborated with over the years.

EP115: Norman Guadagno, CMO, Acoustic

This episode of Great Minds features Norman Guadagno, CMO at Acoustic, where he is helping reimagine marketing technology. Over the past two decades, he has held a number of marketing and strategy roles with a deep focus on business transformation, marketing acceleration, and brand building.

EP114: Robert Berry, Guitarist, Vocalist, and Producer

Progressive guitar legend Robert Berry joins Great Minds to discuss his extraordinary career with other American musical legends, like Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer, The Greg Kihn Band, Alliance, and more, as well as discuss his impressive body of solo work.

EP113: Bradley Rubin, Owner, Eleven City Diner

Combining his passion for Jewish Delicatessens and mid-20th century family-style diners, Bradley Rubin created Eleven City Diner in both Chicago and Los Angeles. Deli Week on Great Minds concludes as Bradley discusses his life, his inspiration, his successes, and the challenges that have come along the way.

EP112: Deli Boys

We’re kicking off the 1st Annual Great Minds Deli Week with special guests Evan Susser and David Phillips, hosts of the popular Deli Boys podcast. For the uninitiated, the Deli Boys podcast sets out to do something never been done before in the podcast world: rank 14 Jewish delis with some incredibly funny guests along for the ride.

EP111: Thembi Tambo, High Commissioner of South Africa to the United Kingdom

This week on Great Minds, we’re thrilled to welcome Nomatemba “Thembi” Tambo, High Commissioner of South Africa to the United Kingdom and daughter of legendary anti-apartheid politician Oliver Reginald Tambo. Thembi has previously served as the South African ambassador in Rome, and is the head of the Tambo Foundation.

EP110: Stephen “Cat” Coore, Musician

When Stephen “Cat” turned twelve he fell in love with Ska and Pop music, and later Rocksteady and Reggae. He loved the Beatles and asked his mom for a guitar and she obliged and this started a love like no other. Cat joins Great Minds to discuss both his incredible music career, as well as the other legends of music he’s played with along the way.

EP108: David Zucker, Film Director, Producer, and Screenwriter

Airplane! is widely regarded as the greatest American comedy film of all time, followed closely by The Naked Gun series. Today’s guest on Great Minds is David Zucker, one of the great minds behind these films, as well as Top Secret!, BASEketball, several of the Scary Movie films, and many more.

EP107: Stacey Feder, Chief Marketing Officer, Hudson Yards

As Chief Marketing Officer for Hudson Yards—the largest private real estate development in United States history—Stacey Feder oversees all aspects of the brand, as well as sponsorship sales, revenue-generating events and fulfillment strategies for office, residential, retail and public spaces. Stacey has a long track record of shepherding assets from initial concept to dynamic destination, demonstrating a talent for creating community where none existed by drawing businesses and consumers to new gathering destinations. In her previous role as Vice President of Marketing at Manhattan’s Time Warner Center, Stacey played an integral role in the global positioning of the innovative, 2.8 million square foot, mixed-use property, which soon after opening became one of the most-visited places and most-referenced landmarks in a city full of both.

EP105: Monique Nelson, Chair and CEO, UWG

Monique L. Nelson is chair and chief executive officer of UWG, the country’s longest-standing multicultural marketing agency. She took the helm of the agency in May 2012, when founder and advertising pioneer Byron Lewis retired. Monique shares the experiences and learnings of her incredible career on this stand-out episode of Great Minds.

EP104: Michael Dorf, Entrepreneur

On this episode of Great Minds, Michael Dorf, founder of New York’s famous Knitting Factory music venue, and City Winery, his restaurant chain featuring live music and wine, discusses his history and successes, as well as the effect of quarantine on live performances.

EP103: Linda Yaccarino and Lynnwood Bibbens

In this episode of Great Minds, Linda Yaccarino, Chairman, Advertising Sales and Client Partnerships at NBCUniversal, and Lynnwood Bibbens is CEO & Founder of ReachTV, discuss their respective career paths in the industry, as well as the new, expanded content and monetization partnership between NBCU and ReachTV.