What do agency leaders need right now? According to Ross Martin, maybe “a sanity check and a lobotomy.”
Funny, yes. Also not entirely wrong.
In this special episode of Marketing Vanguard, host Jenny Rooney spotlights the launch of ADWEEK’s Agencies Vanguard program with three founding members: Jessica Henrichs, CEO of DonerColle Partners; Ross Martin, president of Known; and Chioma Aduba, president of Droga5.
Together, they unpack why agency leadership has become one of the most complex jobs in business, why competitors need spaces for radical honesty, and why the future of agencies cannot be solved in isolation.
What you’ll learn:
- Why agency leaders need perspective, not just certainty
- How leaders can build organizations that adapt through change
- Why agency executives need safe spaces for honest conversation
- How competitors can collaborate on shared industry challenges
- Why agency business models are facing structural pressure
- What diverse agency models can learn from one another
- Why the industry needs to decide what agencies should be known for next
About the guests:
Jessica Henrichs is the CEO of DonerColle Partners and one of the founding members of Adweek’s Agencies Vanguard program. In this episode, she brings a clear perspective on adaptive leadership, the value of peer support and why agency leaders need to build belief through change rather than pretend they have every answer.
Ross Martin is the president of Known and a founding member of Agencies Vanguard. Known for his candid take on the agency industry, Ross brings a sharp view on the structural challenges facing agencies today, from outdated business models to the bigger question of what the industry wants to stand for next.
Chioma Aduba is the president of Droga5 and a founding member of Agencies Vanguard. In this conversation, she speaks to the value of transparency, cross-agency community and creating an industry that feels like it is in good hands for the next generation of creative talent.
Episode Highlights:
[03:10] Why Leaders Need Perspective, Not Certainty — Jessica Henrichs opens with a line that cuts through the usual leadership cosplay: leaders do not need to pretend they have every answer. What they do need is perspective. For agency leaders, the job now is to build organizations that can adapt, give people confidence through change and create belief in where the business is headed. That kind of leadership requires fearlessness, not because leaders are never unsure, but because they have to keep moving people through discomfort anyway.
[04:03] Agency Leaders Need a Sanity Check — Ross Martin answers the question of what agency leaders need now with the kind of honesty that makes people laugh because it feels a little too true: “a sanity check and a lobotomy.” His point is that running an agency in 2026 means taking on some of the hardest challenges in business. The irony is that the people doing it are often brilliant, innovative and inspiring leaders who have chosen a playing field that keeps getting more complicated.
[06:51] Why Competitors Need a Room for Honesty — Chioma Aduba names the strange but necessary tension inside Agencies Vanguard: these leaders are competitors most days, but some industry challenges are too big to solve separately. She says she has more questions than ever in her own leadership journey, which is exactly why a space for honest, off-record conversation matters. The value is not pretending competition disappears. It is knowing when the work requires people to stop posturing and actually compare notes.
[12:26] Why Agency Leaders Are Craving Community — Chioma says the hunger around Agencies Vanguard does not surprise her. People are craving community and a chance to ask, “Here’s what I’m thinking. What are you thinking?” That kind of exchange helps leaders shape their approaches and philosophies in real time. The real value is that the room includes different agency models: holdcos, independents, PE-backed shops and consultancy-owned agencies. The wider the perspective, the better the conversation.
[23:16] What Could Agencies Accomplish Together? — Jessica argues that when a group with this much leadership concentration comes together, there is almost a responsibility to ask what they can accomplish collectively. The value is not only access to thought leadership or the clout of Adweek. It is the possibility of brokering more provocative conversations, learning from different perspectives and letting the concentration of big bets embolden leaders to make more change.
[25:13] What Should Agencies Be Known For? — Ross closes with the episode’s sharpest industry-wide challenge: what do agencies want to be known for? Opaque business models, perverse incentives and cultures that fail too many people? Or systems of innovation where art, science and technology come together, clients can trust and grow, and people are proud to work? That is the question Agencies Vanguard is designed to help leaders wrestle with. Not politely. Seriously.
