Making an unexpected turnaround
Major opportunity for executive nearly led to failure
When Michael Duda took over as CEO of a New York City-based advertising agency, he thought the business was headed for big growth.
Several weeks into his new job, he realized things were not what they’d seemed. Before joining the company, Duda had hired professionals to review several years worth of financials. The firm looked stable. But, as is common in the industry, they hadn’t discussed the ad agency’s future contracts, he said.
Duda had left a marketing consultancy he’d founded with Phoenix Suns basketball star
Steve Nash for the opportunity. He began his new job the week of Thanksgiving 2013. By Christmas, the Greenwich resident was wondering whether he would stick it out.
The company had projected more than 40 percent growth potential for the following year, Duda said, but many of its contracts expired around the time he took the helm. In January 2014, the firm missed its projections by 80 percent.
On this week’s episode of Rally, Hearst Connecticut Media’s podcast about business leaders facing failure and bouncing back, Duda tells his story of taking a company through an unexpected turnaround.
After leading the agency through a difficult year, Duda left to launch his own company called Bullish. Duda and his business
partner Brent Vartan have worked with brands ranging from Casper and Warby Parker to GNC and GoDaddy, including helping create a 2017 Super Bowl ad.
Every week this month, you will find a new episode of Rally available via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and SoundCloud. You can subscribe on those platforms to have the latest show delivered to your phone automatically or listen online. Each episode will tell one business person's story of things going awry and the lessons learned that eventually led to success. Next week’s episode will feature the former publisher of the Greenwich Time, who tells the story of the rise and fall of New York Newsday.
If you’d like to learn more, please reach out by emailing Rally@ctpost.com or follow on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter at Rally_Podcast.