New Global CEO of The Mill Shows Ambitions for Growth and Diversifying Talent

As the pandemic began upheaving the advertising industry, production companies had a massive list of issues to confront. Shoots were either delayed or canceled outright. Production moved from offices and studios to homes. But while the initial blur of activity was chaotic, most shops found their way forward. For its part, The Mill seemed poised to manage its challenges by moving quickly to get people working remotely. Josh Mandel, then managing director at The Mill in Los Angeles, was confident staff and clients would weather the storm. As it continues into its next chapter, The Mill named Mandel the company's global chief executive officer, effective today. Mandel takes over for acting CEO David Patton, who will focus on growing the advertising practice at Technicolor, The Mill's parent company, as global creative experience and advertising. Patton will lead the portfolio of MPC Advertising, The Mill and Mikros production studios. "This is a critical step up for Josh in recognition of the great strategic work he has done with The Mill since his arrival," said Patton. "I believe he is perfectly placed to build the business for even greater success in the future. Most importantly, I believe he will prove to be a strong, dependable, commercial and critically creative leader.” In his new role, Mandel is responsible for the performance and creative culture within The Mill's studios in Bangalore, Berlin, Chicago, London, L.A. and New York. Mandel's two-decade career has been mostly spent on the West Coast (he spent three years at 180 Amsterdam). It includes time at some of the most respected and creative shops, like Goodby Silverstein and Partners, TBWA\Chiat\Day, Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, 72andSunny and R/GA. Mandel was at Nike for three-plus years as a global brand manager and was marketing director and an svp at Essence before landing at The Mill. The Mill's next chapters After speaking with Adweek earlier this year as the pandemic started gaining momentum, Mandel said The Mill looked closely at the company's overall structure. What emerged was a realization that The Mill could transform itself from a series of studios into more of a global network. Part of the observation was that the company was operating well as it adapted to Covid-19. But in both zooming in and out of its client roster, Mandel noticed that landing on a more worldwide approach was desirable. "We've been creating deeper relationships with some brands," he noted. "They naturally expect that we operate with the benefit of multiple locations and, crucially, strong talent." According to Mandel, getting closer to brands over the past six to eight years has become an organic evolution and an outgrowth of starting more strategic conversations. "We've naturally grown into new places because agencies have sold an idea and need to make it," he said. "Sometimes, brands come directly to us because they want to get closer to those who make the [creative work]. We have a nice suite of capabilities that lets people come to us about being partners." A commitment to talent Talent is a significant consideration for Mandel as the shop seeks to forward its future capabilities in the creative marketing, production, experiential and visual effects spaces. "I've been attracted to the idea of leadership in companies that are driven by talent and creative ambition," said Mandel. "In this business, I've loved the idea of how people can gather around the metaphorical kitchen table, toss things out on it. Then, people with different backgrounds and aspirations can attack [a business problem] and make it better." Mandel feels The Mill is an attractive home for talent as it has expanded its scope over the past 30-plus years. The addition of other capabilities means people seek out The Mill as a place to have a rewarding career. Like most agencies in the advertising and marketing industry, The Mill sees an opportunity to grow by redefining and thinking about finding new talent, especially from underrepresented communities. "We've heard all of the excuses," said Mandel, noting agencies that claim it's tough to find diverse talent. "That's an easy shorthand for not trying to make diverse hiring a reality." Mandel noted that this past summer following Black Lives Matter protests, The Mill needed to take a closer look at how it approached DEI. "We are one of the many companies in the world that is full of good intentions," he said. "We had a moment where we said that's just not good enough anymore." To that end, The Mill went through an extensive process to build internal values that it posted on its site so that "we're accountable both internally and externally." Mandel is embedding more purposeful practices in recruiting, retention and how it engages with third-party partners. Additionally, The Mill has partnered with the likes of Black Girl Film School, ChangeTheLens and Create Not Hate for more guidance and support for those looking to enter the industry. "The lifeblood of any truly creative company is a diversity of opinions, which invariably is the diversity of backgrounds," said Mandel. "And if we're not building for that, then then we're going to fail—we're going to fail in the U.S., and we're going to fail globally."