Mixing Board

Bruce Upbin has a 30-year track record of crafting stories, building audiences, launching and managing media products, and creating campaigns for innovative and disruptive brands. He spent 20 years at Forbes Media, rising from fact checker and reporter to managing editor in charge of its technology and wealth reporting teams and iconic lists. Bruce left journalism in 2016 to seek fortune and fame in the tech startup world, where he’s helped build brands in fintech and high-speed transportation.

In late May, Mixing Board members held a mini-conference in New York that was graciously hosted by our friends at the Day One Agency (D1A). Since D1A has been known for its expertise in reaching Gen Z audiences well before TikTok came on the scene, I figured it was a great chance to learn from the Gen Zs who work at D1A. These practitioners range from those right out of school to the ripe old age of 26. (Gen Z can now rent an RV). We got their perspective on tech/media habits and work.

Jen Hartmann is the Global Director of Strategic PR and Enterprise Social Media at John Deere. She leads a team charged with protecting Deere’s reputation, amplifying the brand and establishing an innovative and community-focused social media presence around the world.

One of the most frequently asked questions that comms and brand leaders get is “who else is doing this really well?” Yet, despite the frequency of the query, in the moment of hearing it, your mind is apt to go blank more often than not.

Jack Randall is the Head of Communications at the e-commerce startup, OpenStore. He’s an angel investor in 15+ startups such as Wander, Parafin, and Hang, and advises startups on comms and launch strategies. Previously, he was Robinhood’s Head of Communications for 6+ years, helping them scale from seed stage to an $11 billion company.

It’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and Mixing Board community members work in some of the most high-stress corporate and consulting roles out there. We asked them how they are taking care of their own mental health and/or the mental health of their teams...

The Mixing Board Member Mashup provides answers from the Mixing Board community members on a variety of questions — be they deep, topical, tactical, strategic or career focused. This one is predictable.

John O’Brien is the Co-Founder of Strange Brew Strategies, a tech focused communications consultancy that has partnered with innovative companies, institutions and venture firms, including: American Express, Arweave, Cloudflare, Deel, Flexport, GitHub, Lightmatter, Paradigm, Plaid, Relativity Space, Rivian, Shopify, Tezos, Twitter, Yuga Labs and many others. Before starting SBS, John has spent most of his career at agencies like Weber Shandwick, Horn Group and The Outcast Agency.

The Mixing Board Member Mashup provides answers from the Mixing Board community members on a variety of questions — be they deep, topical, tactical, strategic or career focused. This one is meaty and covers a lot of ground that is increasingly asked in comms circles.

Noora Raj Brown is the EVP of Brand at goop. She oversees brand and integrated marketing, corporate positioning, executive communications, social media, press and influencer strategies around all goop initiatives. Prior to goop, Raj Brown worked in a number of creative industries, including Time Inc, where she led communications for their fashion and style brands, including InStyle, People StyleWatch, XoJane and Wallpaper.