My Inadvertent Career with Greg Stern

10/01/20 • 53 min

When Greg Stern graduated from college with a degree in Political Science, he certainly did not expect to eventually co-found and co-chair the award-winning creative advertising agency BSSP. He also didn't anticipate that he would eventually be named CEO of the renowned performing arts organization SFJAZZ. He calls his career inadvertent, but the steps he took along the way prepared him for the extraordinarily fulfilling career he has enjoyed. He also continually nourished his love of music and ultimately turned his passion into a vocation.
Greg is an excellent example of someone who leveraged all of his unique experiences, including overseas assignments, to build a successful, rewarding and inspiring career.
Meet the Guest
Greg Stern was recently appointed CEO of the non-profit performing arts organization SFJAZZ. Long a supporter, and previously a 3-term board member of SFJAZZ, Greg has been fortunate to be able to turn a passion into a vocation.

He built his career in advertising and marketing services, and is co-founder and co-chairman of BSSP, an independent creative advertising agency. For over 25 years, BSSP has developed award-winning marketing solutions for clients including Blue Shield, Mitsubishi, Priceline, MINI Cooper and others.

He served as Board Chair of the industry trade organization, the 4A’s from 2017-2020.

Greg’s experience also includes multinational agencies, where he was based in New York, Hong Kong and Indonesia, working with clients including American Express, Unilever and Nestle. Greg has been featured in major media including CNN, CBS, ABC and NBC News, the New York Times, and the Wall St. Journal, and has guest lectured at many universities and graduate schools.

Greg is an active angel investor and advisor to start-up companies.

Links
To learn more about SFJAZZ or BSSP, follow these links:

He served as Board Chair of the industry trade organization, the 4A’s from 2017-2020.

Greg is an active angel investor and advisor to start-up companies.

Links
To learn more about SFJAZZ or BSSP, follow these links:

Previous Episode

Living a Creative Life with Denise Young Smith

Since she was a young girl, Denise Young Smith has had a love for music and singing. Her career, though, took her into the world of Human Resources including executive roles at Apple. Did this mean she left the arts behind? Certainly not! Music and performing have always been in her life and are taking center stage now as she becomes Chair of the Board at SFJAZZ.
In this episode, Denise shares her journey including how she developed her love for the arts, why it was important to her to attend Grambling State, an historically black college and university (HBCU), how she got into HR, and how she transitioned out of the corporate world. Her story proves there's more than one way to live a creative life.
Meet the Guest
Denise Young Smith recently closed a brilliant two-decade career with Apple and is currently serving as only the second executive-in-residence at the new Cornell Tech (Cornell Ithaca’s graduate school campus in Manhattan). At Cornell Tech, Denise is visiting scholar and a key cultural influencer at this unique institution on the imperative of true diversity, representation, inclusion, and humanity in technology, drawing on her passion to positively impact the next generation of business and tech leaders and entrepreneurs.

Denise held a variety of executive roles at Apple, including building the talent machine for the company’s retail store initiative, taking the chain to over 400 stores globally before being promoted to the Chief HR role, reporting to Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook. She served also as Apple’s first ever vice president of inclusion and diversity, leading the company’s efforts to see its full ecosystem become as inclusive as possible.

Denise has been named a “Most Powerful Woman” by Ebony Magazine and Black Enterprise, has been named one of “100 Most Influential in Silicon Valley” by Business Insider, and has been featured in Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women” issue.

Truly living at the intersection of technology, humanity and art, Denise has just been named Chair of the Board of SFJAZZ, the premiere arts organization featuring Jazz and Black American music, artists, and educational programming. Additionally, Denise is a classically trained soprano who has graced local and international recital halls, including Carnegie’s Weill Hall, Palace of Fine Arts, and SFJazz. She recently released a debut album under her own Blue Organza Productions & Studios, and continues to tell the stories that need to be told, through music.
Links

To learn more about SFJAZZ or to hear Denise’s album, check out these links:

SFJAZZ
Stream Denise Young Soprano on Apple Music
Stream Denise Young Soprano on TIDAL

Next Episode

Opening the Door with Tiffany Newhouse

How do you gain the experience and skills you need to go out on your own as a consultant? In this episode, Tiffany Newhouse, CEO of Newhouse Project Consulting, takes us through her path to consulting which had plenty of curves, including a key decision to leave law school to pursue a career more aligned with her interests and passions. Throughout her journey, Tiffany gained experience and skills across a variety of industries and sectors, which prepared her to start and lead her highly successful consulting firm working with companies and organizations on transformational change initiatives. This episode is an excellent example of how careers take shape over time and how experiences and relationships can be fully leveraged to open the door to a career of your dreams.
Meet the Guest
Tiffany Newhouse, CEO, Newhouse Project Consulting (NPC), has 25 years of experience as an Executive Consultant, Leader and Transformational Change Expert in the private and public sector. She has a proven track record for driving results and business excellence in multiple industries with dynamic and diverse workforces.

Prior to founding NPC, Tiffany held a variety of executive and leadership positions with Fortune 100 companies including Microsoft, Genentech Inc., Chevron Texaco, Kaiser Permanente, and Pacific Gas & Electric. Her proven accomplishments span the areas of organization development, change management, technology implementation, leadership development, general program and project management, human resources, global deployment, and workforce planning.

As a leader in Transformational Change, Tiffany’s been responsible for guiding many companies through enterprise-wide change initiatives and delivering comprehensive, industry standard change strategies. The key to Tiffany’s success is her unique ability to bridge gaps between her clients, labor unions and customers with measurable success in deployment, adoption, sustainment and ROI for the company.

Tiffany formed NPC with the goal of helping clients deliver on their business goals and commitments through effectiveness and leadership skills. Leveraging her vast experience as a leader and consultant, Tiffany uses an inclusive approach to consulting that enables her clients to increase their competence in navigating the intensity and politics of the business environment, resulting in improved performance and achieved goals.

Tiffany’s most recent passion is RESILIENCE, a Mental Health Literacy Program, under the NPC brand and delivered to over 7,000 people across the United States. The program data and client feedback have deemed RESILIENCE a success – reducing stigma, increasing knowledge and awareness, and finally increasing one’s confidence to support themselves and others in a mental health crisis.

Links

Career Curves - My Inadvertent Career with Greg Stern

Transcript

Beth Davies, host: Welcome to Career Curves, where we talk to people who have interesting careers and explore how they got where they are. I'm your host Beth Davies.

My guest on this episode, Greg Stern, recently took a big swooping career curve when he was appointed CEO of the nonprofit performing arts organization, SFJAZZ.

For years, supporting SFJAZZ was Greg's avocation. He served as a volunteer on the board for three terms while working full-time as co-founder