This week on Coffee Break, PRWeek editorial director Steve Barrett is joined by Ben Miller, founding team member and chief adviser at Common Goal, to discuss the soccer nonprofit’s mission, its new deal with Adidas, and the organization’s anti-racism project.

Coffee Break topics:

1:50 - How Common Goal works with athletes, managers and agents to invest in soccer-based NGOs around the world.

3:30 - Common Goal’s current partners and how it plans to expand its network to reach an even larger audience.

8:05 - Discussing the power athletes have to create authentic and positive change around the world.

9:25  - Why Common Goal’s new partnership with Adidas will enable it to create new content and invest in more charities.

12:49 - A look at Common Goal’s anti-racism project.

Prince talks about the return of Mexican Pizza, which blew up on social media when Taco Bell originally removed it from its menu in 2020.

This week on Coffee Break, PRWeek editorial director Steve Barrett is joined by Donna Lavoie, president & CEO, LavoieHealthScience. LavoieHealthScience saw great success in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Their continued growth looks promising for the future and has led to the launching of a new IR practice.

Gribova talks emotionally about the morning in February when the invasion started, waking up early in the morning and hearing bombing in the distance, fleeing to Germany where her sister lives with her daughter, leaving her husband back in Kyiv, how the agency's staffers reacted, the importance of celebrating great PR work even in these egregious circumstances, what they'd like the international business community to do to punish Russia for its illegal invasion, misinformation in Russia that tempers people's views of what's going on in Ukraine and more

This week on Coffee Break, PRWeek editorial director Steve Barrett is joined by Rachael Horwitz, CMO, Haun Ventures. Launched last week, Haun Ventures is helmed by Katie Haun, who has a decade of experience at the US Department of Justice prosecuting organized crime, murders, public corruption, prison gangs, white collar crime and money laundering. She created the Government's crypto-currency taskforce in 2014. Horwitz met Haun at Coinbase, where the latter was a board member having left government in 2017. Horwitz has also worked in comms at Silicon Valley stalwarts including Google, Twitter, Facebook and Andreessen Horowitz. Haun Ventures is a venture capital firm designed to help founders build the next generation of the internet. It raised $1.5 billion in capital to support the growth of web3, which will be invested through a $500 million early stage fund and a $1 billion acceleration fund.

This week on Coffee Break, PRWeek editorial director Steve Barrett is joined by Michael Olguin, president and CEO at Havas Formula. Now with 200 employees across six U.S. offices, Olguin recalls the tough times in the evolution of the business and the decision to be acquired by Havas, before looking to the future.

This week on Coffee Break, PRWeek editorial director Steve Barrett is joined by Catherine Frymark, EVP, corporate communications at Mattel. The duo talks about Frymark joining the iconic LA-based toy company during lockdown, the evolution of Barbie and plans for a movie next year. She also discusses a record year of turnaround and Mattel officially moving into growth mode.

This week on Coffee Break, PRWeek editorial director Steve Barrett is joined by Michael Ramlet, cofounder and CEO of Morning Consult. Ramlet discusses cofounding the global decision intelligence company in 2014 with $30,000 and parlaying it into an enterprise that secured Series B funding of $75 million last June at a valuation of $1.02 billion. The company tripled in size during the pandemic and now has over 500 employees in 35 states. Ramlet explains how Morning Consult innovated the market research industry that had seen little change since the 1980s. It now counts half of the Fortune 500 list among its clients.

This week on Coffee Break, PRWeek editorial director Steve Barrett is joined by Jeff Smokler, partner, Imre. Smokler discusses the development in life sciences, healthcare and pharma marketing and communications at the firm and in the market generally, especially over the past two years. Smokler previously worked at Weber Shadwick and BlueCross BlueShield, where he wrote speeches for the CEO.

This week on Coffee Break, PRWeek editorial director Steve Barrett is joined by Tiffany Guarnaccia, founder and CEO of Kite Hill PR.

Art Stevens offers a primer for firms looking to be acquired, discusses the recent growth in the PR market and shares tips for potential sellers on what to and not to do.

Recently appointed president of Mower, Crockett talks about how the agency has operated since the beginning of the pandemic, the work being done in small-towns versus big cities and her role overseeing the independent marketing and comms firm as a whole.

This week on Coffee Break, Hirsch reveals the secret sauce inside his new versatile, agile, generalist agency. 

Hirsch, together with Evan Leatherwood (duos at SJR, Hill+ Knowlton and WPP), set up their very own shop in December 2020. Today, with a staff of 20 based out of an office in midtown Manhattan and a suite of services steeped in media relations, content and strategic comms, the agency is thriving. In this week’s Coffee Break, Hirsch opines on talent recruitment, the tech boom migration and creating a flexible culture that embraces a positive work/life balance. 

Podcast topics

- Creating a small team of nimble, versatile, generalists with the ability to create efficiencies, greater value and engagement.  

- Experimenting with the work week to avoid burnout and integrating programs to ensure success for every member of the team.

- The tech boom migration from Silicon Valley to Miami, Austin, LA and Canada too!

- Hirsch Leatherwood’s tactics for less fire drills and work-free weekends.

- Why investing in talent will become even more crucial for building out teams, culture and attracting long-term growth.

The 30-year industry veteran discusses climate change, PR firms’ role in fossil fuels and a future of automobiles without carbon.

Ryan discusses Diffusion’s direct-to-consumer annual index, its benefits and the impact e-commerce has made to the world of shopping.

The long-standing Democratic-leaning communicator and strategist talks about stepping back from SKDKnickerbocker, the firm where she has worked for almost 12 years.

The influencer marketing firm leader discusses changes over 35 years of satellite media tours, their purpose and why they will be around in the future.

Government affairs agency group strategy lead talks about going public on the London Stock Exchange, trends in public affairs and lobbying and growth plans for 2022.

This week on Coffee Break, PRWeek editorial director Steve Barrett is joined by Josh Passman, CEO, Lansons, New York. Lansons, New York is an extension of the London office. From mutual clients, the financial market and his journey to the firm, Passman talks about the newly branded company and what the future may hold.

This week on Coffee Break, PRWeek editorial director Steve Barrett is joined by Matt Middleman, founder + CEO of LifeSci Communications. He's actually Dr. Matt Middleman and he talks about founding and leading a PR firm where 1/3 of its 65 staffers are doctors or scientists. Formed almost five years ago, the agency's revenue is up 60% to $15 million in 2021. Its clients tend to be in the biotech, pharma, medical technology and digital healthcare spaces.

Mesara talks about leading both marcomms roles at the 100-year-old cancer treatment center, which recently acquired Cancer Treatment Centers of America, thus extending its reach nationally to encompass 115,000 patients. She also talks about her long career in comms at pharma at Pfizer, Abbott and AbbVie and pharmacy retail at Walgreens Boots Alliance.

This week on Coffee Break, PRWeek editorial director Steve Barrett is joined by Arielle Patrick, CCO of Ariel Investments. Ariel is the first Black-owned investment firm in the U.S. and currently has almost $20 billion in funds under its management. Co-CEO Mellody Hobson has long been a mentor of Patrick's, including when she was working on the agency side, first at Weber Shandwick, then at Edelman. She moved client-side at Ariel in 2020 and looks after a number of areas in her chief communications role. Coffee Break topics: - Detailing Ariel Investments - Creating purposeful business in a world that’s focused on volume - Corporate directors report - Any surprises from conducting the report? - Making sure the agencies you work with are doing what they say

Hoffman looks back at founding his agency in Silicon Valley almost 35 years ago and how PR has evolved over the decades.

Ben LaBolt talks about working on the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court and how skills learned in the political realm are transferable to the corporate world.

This week on Coffee Break, PRWeek editorial director Steve Barrett is joined by Naimul Huq, SVP of operations at VaynerNFT.

Tovar talks about moving from McDonald's to take the lead role at GrubHub 7 months ago, getting the go-ahead from the delivery company's CEO to invest in a comms team and bringing on Golin as its consumer AOR, the fourth time he has worked with the Interpublic Group agency (previously at McDonald's, Sprint and Walmart).

Stake discusses the intersection of sustainability, DE&I and philanthropy, as well as pushing companies to use their power to do good in the world.