On Friday, January 21st, our founder and owner Michael Hubbard announced that I had been promoted to CEO as we move into the next chapter of Media Two’s future. Over the past three days, I’ve been humbled and overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and congratulations from friends, family, clients, colleagues and a host of other amazing people I’ve had the privilege of working with over the years. I’m grateful to all of you for the experiences and wisdom you’ve imparted, and I’m looking forward to continuing this journey together. It’s been an exciting seventeen years to say the least, and I’m hopeful for another seventeen or more!
As we step into this next phase, I would also just like to say how incredibly thankful I am to Michael for his years of leadership, mentorship and trust. It cannot be overstated how much of a force Michael is in our industry, and I’m very proud to follow in his footsteps. They are huge shoes to fill.
The first time I met Michael, I was fresh out of college and wearing a hand-me-down business suit. I had prepared myself for all of the typical interview questions I knew would be coming. Tell me about yourself? What’s your biggest strength? What’s your biggest weakness? Then he asked it. “What’s your ideal job?” For a split second I thought about tossing back one of the canned answers I had practiced. I paused instead, thought for a moment, and then said the first thing that seemed to make sense at the time. I calmly replied, “I want yours.” There was silence followed by a chuckle, a bit more conversation, and a conclusion that made it very clear any job for me would be entirely dependent on landing more business.
Aside from my youthful over-ambition, the interview went very well. Something just stuck with me. There was a culture rooted in genuine passion for marketing and a real desire to do everything with the client in mind. Any success was because of theirs first. I was excited, motivated and filled with a sense of purpose. As a few weeks turned into a month, anxiety began to set in. Then finally, the phone rang.
Ever since that call, Michael and I have been working lockstep to build Media Two. We’ve sprinted through more airports than I can count, driven through blizzards, and even paid off construction crews with free pizza just to shut them up during client calls. Generally speaking, we’ve done whatever it takes to make our clients successful, and in turn Media Two as well.
After all we’ve been through, I could not be happier to be carrying the torch forward. While there’s a lighthearted sense of guilt for eventually taking Michael’s job, I continue to be filled with a feeling of excitement, motivation and purpose as I endeavor into the next phase of my career. From our first meeting until today, that much has never changed. Now as we turn the page, I’m excited about what the future holds.
