In this first of a new series, Between Gigs, Julie Anne Longano of Peeps Consulting chats with industry leaders who have suddenly found themselves on the market, in between gigs and asks them for advice. It’s a rare and insightful point in their careers where they can talk openly and honestly as themselves. First in the series is Ken Lam.
Ken Lam available for a role, I never thought I would see the day. Thanks for chatting with me; I love speaking to people in our industry in between gigs as it’s a rare moment in time they’re not attached to a parent company party line. Let’s dive in.
Julie Anne Longano: I’ve been trying to headhunt you for various roles over the past decade but you’ve always been content in what you’re doing – what’s your advice on a role and career you can be truly at peace in?
KL: There have been great opportunities so a huge thank you and appreciation for approaching me! But like you said I’ve always been content hence the relatively low number of changes across my career.
And I think the main reason for me has always been “Am I still being stretched?”
I’ve been lucky to keep finding new challenges without needing to move, sometimes by pushing myself into things I hadn’t done before, other times because agency life naturally throws curveballs.
At my last stop, for example, my first four years alone spanned client leadership, investment, building a new agency, and then running a P&L. Same company, but it felt like multiple careers. Each challenged me in a different way but also offered a great opportunity for personal growth.
So my advice would be:
Stay if you’re still learning and being challenged. If you’re coasting, it’s probably time to move.
Don’t wait for roles to be handed to you. Most of the interesting stuff in my career came from putting my hand up or creating it.
Promotions and pay tend to follow impact. Focus on performance and expanding your remit, titles usually catch up!
JAL: We’ll spend exactly one question on this and no more… your view on the impact of Ai in our industry?
KL: I’ve been using the quote: “AI won’t replace you, but someone who knows how to use AI will.”
In fact we spent a bit of time in unpacking this for our teams recently at my last employment. We got futurist Katie Rigg-Smith (shameless plug), who was my ex-CSO and CEO at Mindshare, to talk about the future of the marketing and media industry, and how it will change our jobs and the need to evolve.
There’s definitely some scary stuff in that it’s going to take out a lot of the manual, repetitive stuff across planning, buying, and reporting – some of the skills we’ve all relied on just won’t matter in the same way.
But the flip side is, that was never the real value anyway. The value is understanding people and how they behave, what drives them, and how brands actually connect in a meaningful way. That part doesn’t go away.
So for me, it’s not about panicking about my job in two, three years’ time, but to learn the tools, use them to remove the grunt work, and spend more time on thinking and judgement. Because until AI can genuinely think ahead, handle nuances, and own outcomes like a human can, there’s still a big role for those who can.
JAL: The initial building of iProspect; you brought together more than 150 people from 2 very different agencies, tell us about that time.
KL: I’ve been lucky (or cursed, depending how you look at it!), to go through three major restructures in leadership roles. From the forming of a bespoke Ford full-service agency at WPP, to the centralisation and decentralisation of Amplifi investment at dentsu, to bringing Vizeum and iProspect together more recently.
The iProspect one was probably the most intense, it genuinely felt like building a start-up, but inside a holdco. We had 150+ very capable people, but from two very different models, and not a fully formed, end-to-end agency between us.
So we had to build almost everything from scratch.
I was Head of Investment at the time, so a lot of it was foundational; planning and implementation frameworks, briefing and response templates, training the entire team on what ‘end-to-end’ actually meant, how to collaborate with media partners, negotiate, evaluate and implement properly.
But the more important and challenging part, was everything around it. From our agency proposition, go-to-market narrative and pitch story, people and culture initiatives, rhythms and rituals ensuring both legacies were well respected.
This was also true for the more recent market restructure where my role changed from leading investment to leading the agency, through a very challenging time. And that’s the bit I would call out for anyone going through it now:
A focus on people is the most important. Don’t just say you care, show it through actions.
Be deliberate about culture. If you don’t define it, legacy mindsets will.
Over-communicate and be as transparent and honest as you can. Silence is where uncertainty grows.
Get the basics right. Process, clarity, and consistency – people need to know how to operate and what great looks like before they can excel.
JAL: Now that we have you in a flow; it’s a rare point in time in your career where what you say isn’t monitored by a parent company so… what do you have to say?
KL: It’s a tough reality in our industry that capable, experienced, senior talent are being made redundant more frequently, from understandable factors often driven by cost pressures.
I’d like to see leaders think differently about how to protect that talent and the value it brings. Instead of defaulting to exits, have honest conversations about reshaping roles, reducing scope or time in a way that still delivers savings while retaining experience, IP and continuity for clients.
If it’s handled with transparency and respect, I’d bet most people would welcome a more sustainable way of working, even if it means earning less but with increased personal time, over being pushed out of the industry altogether.
JAL: If you could reverse-engineer your next dream role what would it be? This is your elevator pitch moment Ken I’m not going to lie.
KL: Somewhere I can be genuinely additive!
With my background spanning client, investment and agency leadership, and a proven record of cultivating high performing teams, my ideal role is one where that experience is valued, whether that’s agency, client or media owner side.
And having dealt with major restructures like I mentioned, I’ve seen my fair share of challenges and built strong resilience and a growth mindset to deal with anything, so I’m open-minded on the environment, it’s less about where and more about the opportunity to contribute, build and keep evolving alongside great people (and not just in holdco’s!)
JAL: Tell us about the people we’re handing over the baton to; what are the people like coming through and how can we support them?
KL: I’m seeing a lot of young, smart, passionate talent coming through, not just in our agency but via my MFA involvement.
They’re more curious and incredibly adaptable to the pace of change our industry throws at them.
So the only thing I’d say is for them to not underestimate the human side of our industry, in the face of increasing automation and big tech, relationships still matter! And the network you build over time is what you’ll lean on the most.
And just as importantly, have fun along the way! My motto is “work will be shit at times so just have fun along the way to get you through!”
JAL: In the mindset of boss; what’s a question you like asking someone you are interviewing?
KL: Not a specific question but through conversation I’d like to find out who someone really is.
I’m looking for their personality as much as their capability, because I believe culture and confidence is equally important to technical capabilities. The best people bring street-smarts and book-smarts!
JAL: What about weirdest (or most thought provoking or unusual) question you ever got asked in an interview?
KL: I’ve only done a handful in my career so not a lot to draw on!
But I really don’t like the token “where do you see yourself in two years” type questions.. if someone’s being honest and ambitious, the real answer is usually: doing someone else’s job.
JAL: You’re in between gigs so you can actually tell us your favourite:
KL: Radio station – podcasts all the way.. and usually sport and politics
TV show.. besides binging on the occasional series.. is sport a TV show?
Advertising format – Out-of-home
Up and coming salesperson – not fair to name just one, but someone who takes the time to listen and understand
Place to be taken for lunch – anywhere with a pint and good company!
Branded merch item – my Reddit WFH ring light and microphone kit idea that never got made!
JAL: How can people in the industry help you right now?
KL: I’m so grateful for the support our industry has shown, with so countless number of people reaching out, showing genuine care and willingness to help, so that means so much!
I’m not one to sit still so I will keep reaching out for catch ups and checking in on the latest, so my only ask is to keep the coffee invites open, whether I’m still on the hunt or landed my next dream role!
