Leading The Way Through Mentorship | Ari Weiss, North American CCO, DDB

Tell us how your mentor has supported and elevated your career.

My mentor gave me my first, second and third job. He taught me how to come up with an idea, how to mine the idea to ensure we had the best execution and how to execute flawlessly. He promoted me from junior writer, to writer, to ACD and to creative director. He was in my wedding, and when I finally had the courage to tell him I was leaving the company, he gave me the best recommendation anyone could have ever asked for. I continued to ask his advice on campaigns he had nothing to do with. He gave me my second recommendation when I self-destructed because I hadn’t learned how to lead without him, at which point he connected me with his old mentor who took me under his wing and taught me how to lead. He sent great talent my way as I started to run agencies. I was the best man at his wedding, and I continue to ask his advice at least once a week.

*Please Note: All statements are the opinion of the author and may not necessarily represent the views of The ADVERTISING Club of New York.