In episode 153 live from AdMonsters PubForum Miami, Erik and Kerel talk with Chris Contreras, Chief Customer Officer at MNTN. Chris was first born American after his parents moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic. He comes from a long line of well-acclaimed family members, his father who taught himself English and practiced medicine, a mother who was an architect, and his grandmother who was the first female to run a bank in the Dominican Republic. Chris deciding between medicine and business eventually chose finance and has worked at Univision, NBC, Snap, and more Global Customer Success organizations.

Chris not only works full-time at MNTN but also has a lot of outside obligations including founding an angel fund, a mentorship program through MNTN, as well as a mentorship program in the CS sector, and mentoring VPs and SVPs. He believes that DEI is not something to be promoted as a time-based initiative, but something that is weaved into a workplace and leadership. Chris shares soft and hard skills employees need to have stepping into leadership positions, the importance of mentorship and why future leaders need to get clarity on their weaknesses to figure out a great balance for themselves, their team, and their company. 

“I think communication is such a valuable component. As you move up in your career, the clarity, the succinctness of which you provide feedback, and just general guidance to a customer and internal constituent becomes even more and more important, because the time that you have with senior leaders is very limited.”

Timestamps
:33: Chris Contreras, Chief Customer Officer at MNTN, shares his career background with Univision, NBC, Spap, currently MNTN, and other startups

1:25: Chris talks about his family history, being the middle child of three boys, his family coming from the Dominican Republic, and him being a first born American

2:37: Chris shares about how he is a servant leader after being a part of a bad leadership experience, what it takes to move from junior roles to leadership roles, and how he’s carved his own path

4:55: The best advice Chris has received from his mentor, fellow servant leader, Charlie Echeverry who was the CRO for Univision Digital

6:24: An example of how Chris has seen the impact of leadership and how great teams have helped companies thrive

8:55: Chris shares the training program MNTN has for new employees who may not have ad tech experience and why it’s so important for those people to be involved in the evolution of building and growing the onboarding experience

11:30: Chris talkies about the two pieces about his leadership style and how he brings inclusivity to his companies

11:51: How Chris focuses on making sure there are opportunities for people who are behind him after he leaves his company

14:46: How Chris has navigated two important parts of his career, his ability to manage and his ability to build a pipeline behind him for others to take his role

16:44: Chris shares how leaders can allow their careers to move forward without getting boxed into a specific role

18:48: Chris’s experience with moving into leadership positions, this mistakes that were made, and how he has learned to develop employees to take over in leadership positions

21:11: Important soft and hard skills to have moving into leadership positions

21:53: Chris talks about the importance of mentorship in leadership and why people should reach out to possible mentors no matter if they think they will say yes or not

24:45: Where Chris draws inspiration from

25:21: One piece of advice for anyone who’s looking to level up into a new leadership position

27:03: What is on Chris’s music rotation these days including

27:21: Where listeners can connect with Chris and MNTN

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Ep 153 - Live from AdMonsters PubForum - Chris Contreras, Chief Customer Officer at MNTN

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In episode 154, Erik and Kerel talk with Tenisha Griggs, VP, Head of Global Media at Terminus, a company that combines intent and web-engagement data with industry-leading b2b digital advertising capabilities to build brand awareness. Tenisha is originally from Detroit, Michigan but made her way to Atlanta with a full ride to Georgia Tech for track while studying business management and she has stayed in the city since then. Growing up as an athlete as well as her parents becoming entrepreneurs helped her build characteristics to help her in the business world today working at places such as AT&T and other telecom companies.

Tenisha shares her experience of going from a student-athlete to being competitive in the business world, strong qualities she has adopted from her hard working parents, what she loves about Atlanta, and how she pushes herself to try new things. She also talks about her seven year old son who she co-wrote a book with during the pandemic and was featured on Fox News, how important it is to make time for him, why she requires a work life balance, how she has grown in her career and personal life to where she can advocate for herself, the one main place she from which she draws inspiration, and so much more.

Timestamps

:58: Tenisha Griggs, VP, Head of Global Media at Terminus shares the experience she had recently being nominated for Advertiser of the Year at the AdExchanger Awards

2:03: Tenisha explains Terminus and what they do

3:03: Tenshia tells about her childhood, growing up in Detroit, getting a full ride to LSU and Georgia Tech, and being the middle child

3:53: The unique experience Tenisha had leaving home and being a student-athlete in college

4:55: How athletics helped Tenshia establish herself in the business world, what she learned from that experience, and how she’s had to be aware of her competitiveness

6:44: A few things she learned from her parents who were entrepreneurs and followed their dreams

8:14: Tenisha’s feelings about Detroit vs. Atlanta and why Atlanta will probably stay her home for a while

9:43: Tenshia shares her career journey going from studying business management in college, to taking an internship at Def Jam, moving to telecom sales, marketing, eventually ending up at AT&T, leaving at the merger and joining Terminus

13:11: Why Tenshia has been so unafraid to try new things, how she has utilized her transferable skills for new positions, and advocating for herself

15:43: Some of the things Tenshia loves about her role today as VP, Head of Global Media at Terminus

16:41: Tenshia shares about her seven year old son, the notes he leaves her when she’s in work meetings, the rocks they paint, and how it has been a learning experience for communication and building a relationship with her son

19:12: Tenisha talks about the book her and her son wrote together during the pandemic, one of her most proud moments, and how they were also featured on Fox News

21:14: Some things Tenisha and her son has learned as she has started working from home due to the pandemic

22:23: How Tenisha prioritizes work life balance and how she has learned to advocate for that, not just as a bonus, but as a requirement

24:19: Experiences Tenshia has had with discrimination, the lessons she’s learned and how she overcame those times

27:49: The importance of having many mentors in your life, being a mentor, and also why Tenisha no longer fears competition

31:29: Tenisha touches on where she gets inspiration from, including her faith

32:34: What is in Tenisha’s music rotation these days

33:54: How to contact Tenisha for tips, questions, life advice, whatever

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Ep 154 - Tenisha Griggs, VP, Head of Global Media at Terminus

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In episode 155, Erik and Kerel talk with Karen Vega, Vice President, Audience Impact & Intelligence at Paramount Advertising, a branch of Paramount, a company that develops strategic and collaborative solutions that connect their partners to their diverse, passionate fan base. Karen was born in Colombia, migrated to the states at 13 years old and always had the dream of working in entertainment. Her mother, who was a writer, was in love with the industry and was really formative to Karen eventually working in it. She eventually went to LaSalle University and Seton Hall University to major in communications and minor in Hispanic studies. She has worked at major companies including iHeart, Billboard, FTI Consulting, Viacom, and Viacom CBS.

Karen shares about her experience as an immigrant, how she got started in communications and advertising, why she loves working with Paramount and has just passed her eight year work anniversary. She also talks about what is important to her as a working professional - networking, continuing education, mentoring, sharing the narrative of LatinX, work-life balance, and more.


“With a big company, you see so much change happen. It can be daunting for people. But I would say it has really fit me and benefited me and my personality because I like change. I see opportunity in change. And so when change happens I actually lean in. I observe, but I lean in. And I think that's been really helpful to my career and my development as a professional within Paramount.”

Timestamps

:44: Karen Vega, Vice President of Audience Impact & Intelligence at Paramount Advertising, shares where she’s working from, where she grew up, when she immigrated to the United States and her meaningful trips home

3:11: Karen talks about her experience coming to America and memories that mean a lot to her around that time

6:24: How Karen got started in her career of communications and advertising, how her mom played a major role, going to college in Philly and eventually making it back to New York City

8:54: Why Karen loves working at Paramount and how it fits her personality

11:02: Karen’s take on career growth and development and how important networking and continuing education is for a working professional

13:17: Advice Karen would give her younger self in her career

15:26: Karen shares how she advocates for LatinX representation and opportunity in the advertising space and why it’s important to shift the narrative

20:27: Karen talks about a negative personal experience she’s had with people who lost empathy for others 

23:53: How Karen likes mentoring and why it’s so important for her to mentor others

26:50: Karen shares about her experience with life-balance, the boundaries she sets, and how she works with a hybrid model

30:42: What is on Karen’s music playlist right now

32:24: Where to find and connect with Karen

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Ep 155 - Karen Vega, Vice President, Audience Impact & Intelligence at Paramount Advertising

In episode 156, Erik and Kerel talk with Ayanna Lott-Pollard, Executive Director at Resilient Coders, whose mission is social justice through economic empowerment through educating black and brown folks from low income communities to become software engineers. Ayanna is West Philadelphia, born and raised, just like her parents, is the oldest of 4 siblings, and graduated from the school of Communications and Theater at Temple University. From there, her career path has been nonlinear to say the least, getting opportunities to work in advertising, healthcare, government, including a stint at the White House, operations and now tech adjacent.

Ayanna talks about how her nonlinear career path came from following her heart, how life has directed her to places, organizations, and opportunities in which she deeply cares for, and why she loves learning and where she has developed her growth mindself. She also goes into the current landscape of technology, AI, automation, the importance of skills and diversity at the table, having a vision for yourself, and more.

“It's essential that these organizations, these multibillion dollar organizations and some of the smaller ones as well, that they become inclusive. And it's not just because like I said, it's an ethical, it's a moral issue, it's because we're creating technologies, we're creating opportunities, we're reinventing what this world will look like. And in order for that to be equitable, we need everybody. We need more people at the table.”

Timestamps

1:24: Ayanna Lott-Pollard, Executive Director at Resilient Coders, shares Resilient Coders’ inception, mission, and more details of what the 20 week bootcamp entails

4:34: Just like Will from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Ayanna shares that she was born and raised in West Philadelphia as well as getting into her family history, path to college and nonlinear career path

6:51: Why Ayanna’s career path has been untraditional and how life has directed her to certain places and organizations based on her life experiences

8:08: What drives Ayanna’s passion for continued learning, growing, and education for herself

9:59: Ayanna explains why skills are the new degree requirement, how automation and AI is impacting both workers and employers, and the future of tech jobs

12:23: The ethical and financial importance of decreasing the risk of discriminatory design in tech by putting diverse people in designer roles and have a seat at the table

18:11: What excites Ayanna about the future of technology and the impact Resilient Coders is creating for entire generations 

20:13: The importance of Resilient Coders alumni

22:50: What inspires Ayanna to develop teams and be a transformational leader and what purpose means to her

26:02: The best piece of advice Ayanna has ever received

27:27: Ayanna’s current music rotation, including a Philly playlist, gospel, and a wide range of other music

28:26: Erik, Kerel, and Ayanna chat about and share their love for the TV show Bel Air and why it’s really important and its focus on black excellence

30:20 Where you can connect with Ayanna and find more information about Resilient Coders

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Ep 156 - Ayanna Lott-Pollard, Executive Director at Resilient Coders

In episode 162, Erik and Kerel talk with NoorJehan Tourte, Group SVP, Strategic Planner at Area 23, a healthcare advertising agency about growing up in the Mojave Desert with her Indian family and community, moving to LA proper at 15, and being exposed to so many more people and cultures which really influenced how she lives her life and works today. Following in her brother’s footsteps of being on track to go to med school, NoorJehan eventually figured out that going to business school to get her MBA was a much more exciting path.

From starting out in advertising in the Pharma space at Pfizer, to eventually getting into marketing at Area 23, NoorJehan has learned quite a bit. She shares a mission of her own about getting women really excited about failure, being a part of the Sports Illustrated Swim Search competition, a story about falling off a couch on her birthday and how she made that a win, the cycles of female friendships, great advice that she’s given and passed along to the listeners, and so much more.

Timestamps

:37: NoorJehan Tourte, Group SVP, Strategic Planner at Area 23, shares where she’s currently located, where her roots are and where she went to college 

2:18: NoorJehan explores the transition at 15 years old from her Indian community in the Mojave Desert to proper LA and being introduced to even more cultures

3:34: What NoorJehan has learned from having a foot and experience in so many different communities and how she has built and evolved her identity because of that

6:34: What Area 23 is, their scope of responsibilities and clients

8:27: The intentional decisions by NoorJehan behind working in Pharma, at Pfizer, and getting into marketing and advertising, where she was initially going, and the internship that made her want to be on the business side of healthcare

14:18: NoorJehan shares her mission about helping women get really excited about failure and learning in a world where so many women pressure themselves to be perfect

17:43: NoorJehan tells a story that illustrates how she has fallen or failed and picked herself back up to make it mean something

20:21: What NoorJehan learned about the other women through the Sports Illustrated Swim Search competition and how it allowed her to be more authentic and create valuable female friendships out of it

23:00: How female friendships evolve through different life phases, why being sensitive isn’t a bad thing at all, how NoorJehan views feedback, and what to remind yourself of when something doesn’t go your way

27:10: Where NoorJehan draws inspiration from, including some great advice she was given from the person who inspired her to get into strategy

28:30: The advice NoorJehan would give her her younger self just starting out in the workforce

29:38: What is in NoorJehan’s music rotation including a nonstop playlist, and what her music reminds her of

30:45: How to stay in touch with NoorJehan

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Ep 162 - NoorJehan Tourte, Group SVP, Strategic Planner at Area 23

In episode 165, Erik and Kerel talk with Michael Roca, Executive Director, Elevate at Omnicom Media Group. In their conversation, Michael shares his story of growing up in Queens, New York, as the youngest of four boys and children of Guatemalan parents, how they assimilated to the Latin and American cultures, how he still stays connected with those roots and the lessons he’s learned from his parents and family that he has passed on to his kids.

Since 2006, Michael has been in the media industry and has seen a lot of changes in diversity, although more is to be made. He explains to us how businesses need to communicate with their diverse audiences in order to stay alive, hiring experts to help just like one would outsource any other expertise, and making real change through budgets, resources, and decisions. 

Timestamps

:36: Michael Roca, Executive Director at Elevate at Omnicom Media Group, shares where he grew up in New York City, going to St. John’s University and starting his career

2:18: Michael tells us what it was like growing up in Queens as a Guatemalan and assimilating into other Latin cultures, and he shares an interesting story about where his name came from and how

4:40: Why Michael’s older brothers had a harder time acclimating to American culture than he and his other siblings did, how he has learned from that experience and brought those lessons into how he teaches his own kids to this day

6:35: The importance of honoring our ancestors and getting back to our roots

8:24: Erik shares his experience, being half Guatemalan, visiting his family there and learning lessons about his culture

10:12: Michael shares what he does as the Executive Director at Elevate, how culture around diversity has changed since he’s been in the industry from 2006, the importance for a business to build a strong connection with diverse audiences and build it into their processes

13:21: The growth in multicultural audiences and needs and why businesses have died because they could not serve them, walking the walk in terms of hiring experts who can help businesses talk to those diverse audiences and one of Michael’s favorite experiences working with State Farm

17:43: Making speaking to diverse audiences an intentional process that is built into your business rather than an “add-on” and making real change through budgets, resources and decisions

20:59: Michael talks about Cultural Practitioners at OMG and how they keep teams and clients accountable to their plans of diversity

22:34: The many places Michael draws inspiration from

24:55: Michael shares the idea of having his own Board of Directors, those he goes to for advice and vice versa, and how they help each other along their professional journeys

26:31: What excites Michael about the future of the media tech industry, along with some things he is cautious about

27:31: Some important lessons Michael has learned growing up that he passes on to others as well as his kids, and the importance of a “we” environment over a “me” environment

30:24: What Michael has learned from working with the generation coming up in workplaces, taking into account what they’ve been through, and the advice they’ve given him as well

32:54: Advice Michael would give to himself at the beginning of his career and one of his biggest regrets

34:24: What is in Michael’s music rotation right now, including what music from his children slip into his playlists and how the world has really changed in terms of what music is not available and accepted worldwide

38:03: How to get in touch with Michael Roca

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Ep 165 - Michael Roca, Executive Director, Elevate at Omnicom Media Group

In this episode of "Everyday Black Men," hosts Riker, Reed, Armstead, the Rider, Sham, and the Black Libertarian delve into a mix of serious and lighthearted topics. The conversation begins with Reed reflecting on a disturbing current issue of police mistreating homeless people, sparking a memory of his own misguided actions as a teenager. Riker shifts the tone by asking everyone to share their favorite moments from 2023, leading to a surprising debate when Reed expresses his dislike for banana pudding and the Black Libertarian counters with a fact about our limited taste perception. The mood turns poignant as the Rider shares a personal story, revealing that his best moment of 2023 was intertwined with a profound betrayal. The episode concludes with a discussion by Sham on the unexpected consequences of good deeds, highlighted by Reed's controversial question about Pinky, and a Patreon-exclusive segment featuring a spirited debate o n the Black Libertarian's cleanliness and responsibility, with Sham pointing out that he's the only one with a bittersweet memory on circumcision.

Banana Pudding Betrayals and Lemon-Flavored Love Lives

Tune in to the latest episode of IR Presents: the Music Mpulse Podcast, where @dontaespeakslife joins the conversation for an insightful discussion on the challenges of friendship, highlighted by his experience with the Candid Conversations Speaker Series. From his beginnings in radio to co-hosting @thesoundboardpodcast, Dontae shares his journey, including Meeting @SkeetGross, and delves into the intricacies of building a brand as podcasters and why food is the best in Louisiana.
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Songs of The Episode "Aura" @IAmRussHall

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IR Presents: Music Mpulse "Dontae"

Highlighting people of color, women & LGBTQ+ leaders within business, media, and tech. Our content focuses on diversity within media, business and technology.

Join Riker, R. Reed, Armstead, DJ ALL MIGHT, The Black Libertarian, Sham and The Rider as they discuss topics from the viewpoints of 7 everyday black men. From the latest in pop culture, to black thoughts and relationship problems there is no topic too controversial.

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