This week’s Meeting of the Minds sees Lee Stephens and Per Tinberg from Meerkat Media reveal their leadership heroes, current streaming binge, and career goals.
The Mediaweek series showcases diverse perspectives, thoughts and opinions by bringing together two different points of view from an industry rookie and an experienced expert.
Lee Stephens, executive chair – Meerkat Media
Favourite podcast/read – Smartless dives into the motivations and journeys of the most fascinating actors, musicians, directors, producers, composers and creatives that impact the world today. Also, very funny.
Current streaming binge – Queen of the South. Yikes!
Misconception about your role – “Executive Chair” sounds like a walk in the park. It’s far from that. My favourite responsibility is helping the team develop and communicate Meerkat’s unique proposition and deliver on our promise to clients. I am not allowed to touch the tools.
Best career advice – Don’t get trapped in a business that doesn’t value your time or contribution. Find a part of the industry that gives you joy, and keep good people around you.
Leadership hero – Maggie Beer is a true personal hero. Working with her team at food shows, at the farm, creating video demonstrations (which she didn’t particularly like), quietly buying an apple farm to protect the heritage of the Barossa, constantly dealing with major distributors – Maggie always lives by, and presents the same values privately and publicly.
How do you stay motivated – I am passionate about developing solutions for regional and remote communities and also franchisee networks that need to deliver the same services across communities with very different needs.
Best training course/session – Media training with a camera is a truly daunting experience. My coach’s feedback was extensive, then it was played to the 15 others in the course for critique. You learn very fast over 2 days.
I wish someone had told me – Don’t get tunnel vision at work. Your best career-making ideas come from what is going on outside the spreadsheet you currently have your nose in. Stay interested in what really counts. Hint: It’s out the front door.
Something that’s surprised you about the industry – That it would grow so fast. In the mid-late 90’s there were about 12 internet professionals on the publisher side and very small teams, agency side. Change was slow until around 2002. Then BOOM! Everyone was a digital expert.
What is your hot take on the industry – The only surprise is that video-based advertising has taken so long to surpass online display media (banners). But be careful, there is a sting in the tail of this transition. Without a strong, diversified online display industry across many publishers Google, Meta and Amazon will grow their dominance over lower funnel conversion attribution.
Favourite way to switch off from work – Turn off everything with a screen.
Career goal for 2025 – Playing my part in developing outstanding media professionals, living their professional values around the environment, equality and creativity. Oh! And making sure they earn exceptional amounts of money.
Per Tinberg, managing director – Meerkat Media
Favourite podcast/read – Dyl & Friends. An ex-AFL player, Dylan hosts interesting, predominantly sports-related guests. He has a light-hearted chat filled with banter that touches on career and life highs and lows, tapping into their mindset and psyche to uncover what makes his guests happy and successful.
Current streaming binge – White Lotus S3! Mike White’s writing has a way of hooking you in from the start. I can’t wait to see what dark secrets are revealed in Thailand.
Misconception about your role – It’s easy to think of being the Managing Director as a leadership role. It has turned out to be more of a coordination role, steering experts for each discipline in a shared direction. I’m not sure I am managing the team or I am the one being managed.
Best career advice – Stay curious and ask lots of questions. There’s constantly something new to learn in this ever-changing industry and by seeking out knowledge you can identify different opportunities to provide value to your clients.
Leadership hero – My Dad. While he’s not been a direct leader of mine in a career sense, he has started several businesses and has always been a big source of inspiration for me. He’s always been a sounding board and has helped shape me into who I am today.
How do you stay motivated – working with amazing people! Whether it’s partnering with passionate clients or collaborating with great media partners – there’s a lot of energy in this industry, so lean into it.
Best training course/session – The AI Fluency Sprint from the USYD Business School. The constantly evolving AI space can seem daunting, but Kai and Sandra unpack AI with engaging and jargon-free content. Importantly, it covers the risks and opportunities of AI and how to ensure it is developed responsibly and ethically.
I wish someone had told me – No one is going to die! I actually think Lee told me that early on in my career, but I wish I had actually listened. Not taking on external stress has taken a little while to master, but it has helped me stay laser-focused on what’s important when the whips are cracking.
Something that’s surprised you about the industry – it’s a very small world. Everyone knows everyone, so it pays dividends to treat people with respect if you want to do well.
What is your hot take on the industry – clients are ready to make media sustainability a focus in 2025. You don’t need to be an altruist. By eliminating wastage and focusing on quality placements you can make a significant improvement to the carbon footprint of your campaigns. Better for a client’s bottom line and the planet.
Favourite way to switch off from work – A round of golf. It’s an opportunity to disconnect from my phone for a few hours and focus on the next shot. It’s also very humbling, so there are lots of shots to focus on – it does a great job of bringing me back down to earth.
Career goal for 2025 – Continue to push myself outside my comfort zone. You’re not growing unless you’re feeling challenged.
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Past editions of Meeting of the Minds.
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Top image:Lee Stephens and Per Tinberg