Who are you?
By nature, I am an introvert. Not the obvious personality trait that one might associate with the world of advertising and communication, but it has made me connect with people, with culture, and with brands in a way that I don’t think would have ever been possible if I’d been in anything else.
What is innovation to you?
Innovation is looking at the same object, the same problem, or the same issue and suddenly having a fresh perspective. A perspective that feels absolutely right, both from your gut and absolute common sense. Then you just have to ask yourself, “Now why didn’t I see it that way before?”
Name 5 things you love to death.
My family, just hanging out together, watching “Modern Family.”
Great science fiction movies. “Forbidden Planet” is at the top of the list, followed by “Blade Runner.”
Photography, taking pictures, trying new equipment, harassing my kids to get more shots of them. I’ve been into photography since second grade.
A superb bottle of red wine and friends to enjoy it with. With the occasional martini (vodka, not gin).
Discovering the undiscovered (at least by me), a book, an artist, a TV series I never watched before, a good movie that all the critics weren’t talking about.
What will your autobiography be titled?
Just Worry About It, a Life Spent in Advertising.
What is cool?
When I experience something for the first time that I never saw, that I never heard, or that I never walked through, that’s where I find cool. It’s not about it being new, sometimes it’s quite old. Sometimes it’s just a door that I’ve never stepped through before. Sometimes it’s a sound I’ve just never quite experienced. It’s the juxtaposition of what I thought I knew, with things that I never knew. That’s what’s cool.
Tell us a secret.
My middle initial, which is “S,” stands for Sinclair. When I was young, I thought my parents had named me after the gas station that had the same name and featured the logo of a dinosaur, because I liked dinosaurs so much. I learned later that this wasn’t the case, but I still like to think that I was named after a brand I liked, rather than a name suggested by the couple that lived next door.
