Diane McArter is the founder of Furlined, one of the most respected production companies in the industry.

In this episode, Diane reflects on leadership, power, and what it really means to build a culture where people can do their best work.

She shares her journey from early leadership at Ridley Scott Associates to founding Furlined, navigating fear, responsibility, and reinvention along the way. We talk about women in leadership, servant leadership, the role of trust, and why a company’s culture is shaped by everyone who enters it.

Diane also discusses Manifest Works, her nonprofit creating career pathways for people impacted by foster care, homelessness, and incarceration, and why leadership at its best is an act of service.

This is a conversation about growth, empathy, creative courage, and building something that lasts.

Carmen Rodriguez didn’t get her first job in advertising by talking about advertising.

She got it by talking about soccer.

In this episode of Second Wind, Gully Flowers and Kerrie Finch sit down with Carmen Rodriguez, Global Chief Growth Officer at GUT, to unpack a career built on passion, trust, and a deep belief in the power of creativity.

Born in São Paulo and now based in Amsterdam, Carmen shares how growing up in Brazil shaped her view of advertising as part of popular culture, why bravery isn’t a personality trait but a practice, and how GUT has grown from a bold idea into one of the most talked-about agencies in the world.

They cover:

• The interview that launched her career at Leo Burnett at age 17

• Why GUT “interviews” clients before pitching

• The “bravery gap” between people and brands

• How long-term client relationships outperform short-term wins

• Why “the best advertising for an agency is still the work”

• What hybrid work, diversity, and trust actually look like inside a modern creative company

• And why Carmen’s definition of success is simple: work that works, and work your aunt would share on WhatsApp

A conversation about growth without cynicism, creativity without ego, and why conviction still compounds.

This episode of Second Wind breaks from our usual interviews to reflect on 2025 and the people who actually built reputation in the advertising industry.

We introduce a set of intentionally made-up awards to recognize the agencies and marketers who stood out this year. The slow burns. The breakout hits. The teams that thrived in chaos. The ones who made invisible work visible.

Along the way, we talk about what reputation really compounds today.

Point of view. Taste. Talent. Timing.

And why memorability is no longer accidental.

If you care about where advertising is headed, and what actually lasts, this episode is for you.

Xanthe Wells is VP of Global Creative at Pinterest, where she leads the House of Creative, recently named In-House Agency of the Year at the Gerety Awards.

Before Pinterest, she led global creative for Google’s Pixel and Nest brands, earning a Cannes Grand Prix, a D&AD Black Pencil, and multiple Agency of the Year honors.

Earlier in her career, she worked on Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Monsters, Inc., and spent formative years at TBWA\Chiat\Day with Lee Clow.

In this episode of Second Wind, Xanthe shares a philosophy of creative leadership that runs counter to most playbooks. Pressure feels productive, but it narrows thinking. Relaxation isn’t a luxury. It’s a creative requirement.

We talk about building psychologically safe teams, why lowering the stakes leads to better work, and how to protect creativity inside high-pressure organizations. Xanthe also shares lessons from Pixar, Google, and Pinterest, her perspective on AI as a creative tool, and why human taste, humor, and empathy still matter more than ever.

This is a conversation about leading creatives with generosity, clarity, and trust, even when millions of dollars are on the line.

Cindy Gallop built BBH US from a room with a phone. She became one of the most influential voices in advertising and then walked away with no job to go to. It was the best decision she ever made.

In this episode, Cindy talks about why a job is not the safe option and why placing your future in the hands of a corporation is more dangerous than betting on yourself. She explains the daily drip of microaggressions that kill confidence, why most women never get the support they deserve, and why her advice is simple: get the f*ck out and build something that gives you agency.

We also talk about BBH, MakeLoveNotPorn, pitch culture, leadership, sex education, and why the future is female and founder-led.

This is Cindy at her most direct and most generous.

Billy Bohan Chinique, VP of Marketing and Digital Innovation at Virgin Voyages, joins us to talk about the future of travel, fashion, AI, and brand storytelling.

He shares how he went from call-center sales to designing digital experiences, how he ended up styling Sir Richard Branson, and why showing up as your real self became an accelerant for his career.

We get into Jen.AI, the Jennifer Lopez campaign that pushed AI before it was cool, the making of Virgin’s AI-powered mermaids, the shift toward creators, and why “brand as operating system” is the only approach that still makes sense.

If you care about creativity, travel, leadership, or the next frontier of marketing, this is a conversation worth hearing.

Chapters:

00:00 Styling Richard Branson

02:10 Fashion and authenticity

03:55 Breaking into travel

06:50 Building Virgin Voyages’ digital platform

11:05 The origin of Jen.AI with J.Lo

16:00 AI-powered mermaids

19:50 Brand as operating system

26:20 The new creator economy

32:00 Talent, hiring, and AI literacy

36:20 Becoming an AI-native company

39:40 Billy’s legacy

John Schoolcraft helped turn Oatly from a quiet Swedish oat drink into one of the most talked-about brands on the planet. No marketing department. No traditional briefs. No safety nets. Just creativity, rebellion, and a CEO who let the work lead.

In this conversation, John breaks down how he:

• Killed the CMO role and replaced it with makers

• Turned lawsuits into creative fuel

• Used packaging as media when there was no budget

• Made baristas the launch strategy that cracked the US market

• Built a fearless culture that treated creativity as a business engine

It’s a masterclass in brand building from one of the most influential creative leaders alive.

Listen for the story behind the Super Bowl ad, the behind-the-scenes battles with the dairy industry, and why trust inside a company beats process every time.

Nick Law explains the split that defines modern creativity. Inventive thinking and expressive thinking. How they collide, how they fail, and how the best teams make them work together. We cover his path from Australia to Pentagram to RGA to Accenture Song, the collapse of the old agency model, how platform culture reshapes craft, and what AI means for the next generation. A grounded conversation about what it takes to make work that matters now.