Is there an exodus from Carat Fusion?
Introduction
Word of mouth vs. conversation marketing
The hyper-changing media landscape
Is there an exodus from Carat Fusion?
Sarah Fay's predictions for 2007 and beyond
Berens: We've seen some high profile departures from Carat Fusion in the last year: Toby Gabriner; Cory Treffiletti and John Durham, to name the three that come most quickly to my mind. Then Marti Funk left just a few weeks ago. Some industry writers have described this as an exodus. Is that fair? What's your take on these movements? What does it mean for Carat, Isobar or the industry in general?
Fay: Yes, Carat Fusion has had some departures over the past year-- people who made a positive contribution to the growth of our business over a period of years, all of whom left for bigger opportunities (which speaks to the state of the market, as well as Carat Fusion's dynamic reputation).
We've also had a big influx of talent under the new leadership of Scott Sorokin who came on as president this past April. Scott is in the process of making some changes to the Carat Fusion strategy, which I think are right for the business. It feels like a case study out of Jim Collins' leadership book, "Good to Great." Change (even if it's for the good) can be unsettling, and you can't blame some people if they don't want to live through it.
Would I call it a mass exodus? I think that's a bit dramatic. Out of Carat Fusion's nearly 300 people, we have lost a handful of visible industry personalities. Of course, this really gets noticed by the press. But our ability to service clients has not been affected. In fact, business is significantly up from 2005 to 2006, and headcount is up 20 percent.
Carat Fusion has healthy client relationships based on a history of executing digital marketing strategies that work. At the end of the day, our clients want to be assured that we have the right talent to deliver successful marketing programs, and thanks to the dedicated members of the team we have on staff today, Carat Fusion has not skipped a beat as a result of any departure.
Berens: Who is coming on board to fill those slots? And, more generally, do you have a sense of how much turnover is good versus bad for an organization? To me, it always seems to be a delicate balance between wanting new blood with fresh perspectives and the loss of institutional memory.
Fay: All organizations have turnover, and yes fresh blood can really invigorate. Carat Fusion is growing up as an organization, and it is only natural that as the size and shape of the company changes, so do its needs in terms of organization and management. We certainly never wished for the people you mentioned to go-- there were no poor performers in the group. But when people leave, you can take a fresh look at structure and skills that will take the company forward.
Scott Sorokin, who we brought on as president of Carat Fusion, is exactly the leader the company needs for its next stage of growth. He's a true industry veteran-- from the founding management team of Grey Interactive. He also managed the integration of Modem and Digitas on the west coast. He has experience in leading big global accounts that are fully integrated (such as Intel). This is what our organization has been built for. We need someone with Scott's vision and outside perspective to take it to the next level, as growth continues.
Scott has also brought in top talent to fine tune service delivery. Jeff Thaler, who just joined as SVP director of program management is a process and operations expert. He's had experience working with, and building teams for, agencies like Tribal DDB in New York and MRM Worldwide, where he supervised cross-functional teams for a wide range of clients. Jeff is addressing Carat Fusion's national service processes and tools to ensure 100 percent on time, on budget delivery. He is tightening our act across the organization.
Another recent joiner at Carat Fusion, Bill Hewson, just came on as VP director of account services in New York. Bill is a died-in-the-wool client services professional and has had years of experience in traditional advertising, client-side marketing and direct/integrated marketing. He has lead client relationships at Digitas, Modem Media, and most recently, TribalDDB. Bill is jumping in to ensure strategic value is provided to all of our New York clients. His goal is to exceed client expectations and be their most trusted marketing partner.
These are just a couple examples of the talent influx Carat Fusion is experiencing. With a 20 percent increase in staff, we obviously have a lot more people I could talk about. Suffice to say that the talent coming our way is adding a lot to our future outlook!