Industry Insights from Advertising Hall of Famer Rishad Tobaccowala
Tobaccowala unpacks his four decades-long career at the forefront of marketing innovation and shares how scale, adaptability, and integration are redefining creativity and relevance for today’s top agencies
Over his 40-year career, Rishad Tobaccowala has worked across almost every area of marketing and strategy, including brand, advertising, media, database, direct, and interactive marketing. He helped create one of the first interactive groups and digital agencies and served as the Global Chief Strategist and Growth Officer for the Publicis Groupe. Rishad has also served as the Chairman of Digitas and Razorfish, two of the world’s largest marketing transformation agencies, with over 11,000 employees.
In recognition of his contributions to the field, Rishad was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame this year.
Today, Tobaccowala is an author, speaker, teacher, and advisor helping people, organizations, and teams reinvent themselves to remain relevant in changing times. Rishad speaks on change, future trends, and transforming workforces to leaders in a range of industries, from internet platforms and technology to financial services and consumer goods. Companies that have invited him to speak include Google, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, Akamai, Intuit, The New York Times, Conde Nast, Paramount, Walmart, McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Bayer, Pepsi, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Rishad is also the author of two books: Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in the Age of Data (2020) and Rethinking Work: Seismic Changes in the Where, When, and Why (2025). Continuum readers know Rishad from his weekly column, “The Future Does Not Fit in the Containers of the Past,” which is read by over 30,000 leaders every week. Rishad is also the host of “What Next?” a podcast where he speaks with a range of leaders across business, technology, academia, and the arts on how to make sense of the cultural, social, and business changes transforming us all.
The Continuum sat down with Rishad for a conversation about his impressive career, his new book, and his vision for the future of work. The discussion was so wide-ranging and interesting that we are publishing it as a two-part series.
This week, we discuss his career, his induction into the Advertising Hall of Fame, and the role of large holding companies in the advertising industry. Next week, we’ll discuss how the pandemic has changed not just how we work, but why we work, and get his advice on how companies and employees can prepare for the future in this time of rapid change.
You were recently inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame. Congratulations. Can you tell us what the ceremony was like and what the award meant to you?
The event was amazing. It was attended by 850 people at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, which was beautifully decorated in blue hues. I’d say there were over 200 people there that I knew, so it felt kind of like coming home. I was honored and inspired to be inducted with people like the late Susan Wojcicki of YouTube; Raja Rajamannar, who is the CMO of Mastercard; John Hayes, who is the former CMO of American Express; Lisa Sherman, who runs the Ad Council; David Lubars, who was the CCO and Chairman at BBDO, and Alex López Negrete, who founded his own firm which is now the largest independent Hispanic owned and operated agency in America. It was a terrific honor.
Next year marks the 75th anniversary of the Advertising Hall of Fame, and fewer than 300 people have been inducted. In Publicis Group, where I grew up, there have been about seven people inducted over the years, including our founder Maurice Lévy and Leo Burnett, who was my boss. The idea that you’re suddenly in the same gathering as these people is huge and humbling.
Clearly, you’ve had a long and distinguished career in advertising; we love to start at the beginning. Can you tell us how you got your start in the industry?
I came to the University of Chicago after graduating with a math degree in India. By the time I graduated from the University of Chicago, I’d figured out that I wanted to do something at the intersection of strategy and culture, because I like strategy. But I’d grown up in India, and realized I was somewhat lacking in my understanding of culture in America. My exposure to American culture was seeing a few movies and reading Time Magazine, but there was a whole bunch of other stuff—like sports and homecoming games—that made no sense at all.
The broad world of marketing was where strategy and culture intersected. So instead of going into finance, which would have made sense with my math degree, I applied to any marketing job I could find. I got a single job offer. It was from Leo Burnett.
It was actually one of my top choices because it was where strategy and culture intersected, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. In those years, the agency served as the marketing department for many clients and was part of the marketing team for others. Procter & Gamble was one of my first clients; they obviously had a world-class marketing department, but two days out of every five, I sat in Cincinnati with that marketing department, writing plans. I wasn’t treated like ‘that agency person,’ I was part of the team.
I thought I'd stay for a few years, learn about America and its culture, and obtain my green card so I could secure another job. I stayed for 37 years.
Leo Burnett was one of the top agencies at that time. What do you think made it so special that you stayed for so many years?
It was unique. I joined the company in 1982. We had one office. It was in Chicago. No other agency of that size had had only one office, but we didn’t have offices in New York or LA, just Chicago. At the time, many of the major marketing spenders were in the food or airline industry. We had United, Kellogg, McDonald's, and Heinz. All of them are Midwestern. They’re based in Pittsburgh, Chicago, or Minneapolis. We were a different kind of agency because we represented Heartland America.
We also did great work. The same company made all of these things: Tony the Tiger; Snap, Crackle, & Pop; the Keebler Elves; Morris the Cat; the Pillsbury Dough Boy; the Jolly Green Giant; and the Marlboro Man. We created the Heinz ketchup commercial with Carly Simon’s hit song ‘Anticipation’ and came up with the slogan ‘Fly the friendly skies.’
So many of these things still exist. United is no longer a client, but when you get on a United flight even today, they play Rhapsody in Blue, which started with an ad campaign from the early 1980s.
It was the most amazing time.
“At that time, people believed that digital had to be done by specialists who lived in an office or server rooms, not some big agency that worked in a bank building and made television commercials.”
You were at Leo Burnett through many changes and transformations, including becoming a Publicis Agency. Can you explain the changes and your various roles to us?
I never left, but the last time my business card actually said Leo Burnett was 1996. That year, a few colleagues founded a small production shop called Giant Step Productions. I convinced Leo Burnett to buy it, but we operated it differently. It was one of the first interactive agencies. At that time, people believed that digital had to be done by specialists who lived in an office or server rooms, not some big agency that worked in a bank building and made television commercials. So we moved out of the giant Leo Burnett building and into an office in Greek town in Chicago. My colleagues and I helped grow that agency from three people to 220 people.
Then I was asked to help spin Leo Burnett Media into Starcom, which later became Starcom Mediavest. In 2002, Publicis bought all of Leo Burnett and some other companies. They merged a number of media companies together into Publicis Media, and I became the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer there. I worked closely with Jack Klues (CEO of Publicis Media) and Maurice Lévy (CEO of Publicis Groupe), and the board. We thought we needed to get more digital, so we bought Digitas and Razorfish. I was the Chairman of those groups. And then in 2013, Maurice asked me to be the Global Chief Strategist for all of Publicis.
I finally left in 2019. It was the right time. I turned 60 that year, and I’d always said I would retire at 60. Plus, Maurice retired, and the change in CEO seemed like a good time for me to move on. I wanted to do more writing, speaking, and advising to other groups which is what I’ve done. But I’ve also stayed on with Publicis as an advisor. So I left, but I didn’t go far.
You called leaving a retirement, but from the outside it certainly doesn’t look like you’re retired. Can you explain your role as an advisor?
I do three things which are very specific. I serve as the master of ceremonies for all of Publicis’ executive training worldwide. Most of it takes place virtually, because we are a global company, and in these trainings, you need someone to connect everything together. That’s me.
I also host the Publicis podcast. It’s called What’s Next. I invite people who are very successful in their chosen fields—including CEOs, creative leaders, and academics—to discuss innovative strategies, technology’s impact on media, and leadership challenges in the future of work.
The last part of my role is working with clients. Many of their clients want a perspective on the future and how things are going to change.
“As the world gets more complicated with more data analysis and AI, it can help to unite different assets in a customized way to satisfy clients.”
Can you tell us a little more about your podcast?
It’s very independent from Publicis. I would say 11 out of every 12 guests are not connected to the agencies. I’ve had people from small start-ups discuss their businesses. I’ve had army generals talk about leadership. I’ve talked to world-class trainers. I recently had Leslie Laredo and author Deborah Burns discuss how to train employees for the world of AI. We really focused on the emotional context. I spoke with Andrew Essex, the founding CEO of Droga5 and the CEO of the Tribeca Film Festival, about what distinctiveness and differentiation mean. I just recorded an episode with Sir John Hegarty of BBH about creativity.
I recently interviewed Nick Colucci, the former Chief Operating Officer of Publicis North America, for Publicis. He created all of Publicis Health, which became the industry's largest health-focused agency network. He retired a couple of years ago and came on to talk about lessons in leadership.
We’ve recorded about 100 episodes that you can listen to.
“Other people might say that a holding company is too big, too bureaucratic, and doesn’t move fast enough. It depends on who you are and where you are in your career.”
You started at Leo Burnett when it was an independent agency, and then you made it all the way to the management committee at Publicis. What do you say to people who think holding companies are bad for creativity?
I think I voted on this with my feet. I didn’t leave. I could easily have decided to leave when we sold Leo Burnett to Publicis, but I stayed another 20 years. Holding companies were originally a financial thing, different companies under one umbrella. But most companies don’t work that way. Publicis doesn’t call itself a holding company anymore; it’s a platform.
Clients don’t always hire one agency. They can, but sometimes they’ll come to the group looking for a broader solution, which has data and digital storytelling. Publicis will combine different agencies under one team. As the world gets more complicated with more data analysis and AI, it can help to unite different assets in a customized way to satisfy clients. It also allows for significant scale-based buying.
I suppose I could look romantically at Leo Burnett, which is now called Leo, and say that I loved it more when it was private. But I don’t know what would have happened if it stayed that way. It had already grown to a certain size. I think that if it had stayed private, it would have had to become a boutique. Look at world-class independent agencies like Wieden and Kennedy; they’re getting smaller and smaller. Clients say they love Wieden and Kennedy, but they also need first-party data-driven storytelling. They need to reach influencers. They need system integration. They stick with Wieden and Kennedy, but it’s not the lead. The client will combine different agencies.
I’m all for the next generation holding companies like Publicis because I think they do this really well. But I don’t think that’s the only model. There are lots of different ways to work because no two clients are the same. If you look at large clients in the United States now, rare will be one who has no holding company and rare will be one who only uses a holding company. Most clients work with two of the big six or seven holding companies, have some internal capabilities, and engage with a spectrum of different agencies.
If you’re the talent and you’re trying to decide which is a more interesting environment to work in, I’d say it depends on your personality and what you want to do. I stayed at Leo Burnett for so long because I had the opportunity to change careers without changing my company. I've done digital. I've done media. I've done creative. I’ve done strategy. I’ve done startup roles. For me, that was fantastic. Other people might say that a holding company is too big, too bureaucratic, and doesn’t move fast enough. It depends on who you are and where you are in your career. Look at me, I am now a company of one. I used to be in a company of 106,000 people, and now it’s just me.
“Advertising is an extension of those forms of expression and is done to reach people at scale.”
We’re going to stop here and pick up our conversation in next week’s column, which will focus on Rishad’s new book—Rethinking Work: Seismic Changes in the Where, When and Why—and why we should all strive to be a company of one.
June 4, 2025
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