Adam Hanft
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This week Lonny speaks with Adam Hanft, CEO of Hanft Projects, a globally-known expert in marketing strategy, branding and messaging; he is also a prolific cultural critic and journalist. This combination of skills and experiences represents the confluence of disciplines that define the future of marketing.
Adam sits on the board of two public companies, Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG) and 1800Flowers (NASDAQ: FLWS); he also has a non-Board role at SMG as Chief Brand and Creative Adviser .\\xa0 \\xa0\\xa0
In addition, Adam sits on the board of two private companies \\u2013 Sensory Cloud, a pioneer in the application of olfaction technology to the hospitality and wellness, and Parallax, an early-stage life sciences company focused on the development of safe nicotine delivery systems.
Adam is an active angel investor and served on the advisory boards of start-ups in agtech, cybersecurity, AI, fintech, foodtech and HRtech.\\xa0 Included among them are Hampton Creek (now JUST) who is valued at unicorn status for their plant-based food innovation and HiBob, which has been called the most revolutionary start-up in the HR space. \\xa0
The range of well-established companies and start-ups where Adam has contributed strategic insights and creative leadership attest to the range of his talents.\\xa0 They extend from WeWork to Match.com and Tinder, to TAE Energy \\u2013 a pioneer in nuclear fusion who has raised nearly $1B\\u2013 to McKinsey and Life Biosciences, the world\\u2019s leading company in longevity research. \\xa0
Adam was an unpaid digital strategy consultant to President Obama\\u2019s 2008 campaign, and has been advising Yair Lapid, who is now running with Benny Gantz on the \\u201cBlue and White\\u201d ticket to lead Israel, and is leading in the polls.
Adam is co-author of \\u201cDictionary of the Future,\\u201d a best-selling book that was described by \\u201cWired\\u201d magazine as a \\u201cmimetic encyclopedia of what's to come, an engaging crash course in bleeding-edge ideas and debatable issues...it's an entertaining and enlightening trip."
Called a \\u201cmarketing guru by U.S.A. Today, Adam had a successful career as an advertising agency founder; before selling the company and starting his consulting practice, Adam won over 100 major awards \\u2013 including an EFFIE for effectiveness \\u2013 and was responsible for creating the \\u201cFlick Your Bic\\u201d campaign, named one of the 50 greatest ad campaigns of all time by Entertainment Weekly
Commentaries written by Adam on a diverse range of subjects appear regularly in the Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, Fast Company, Atlantic, Slate and other publications.\\xa0 He is also a frequent commentator on public radio\\u2019s \\u201cMarketplace,\\u201d and has appeared on the \\u201cToday Show,\\u201d \\u201cThe Daily Show,\\u201d CNBC, Fox News, and many other outlets.\\xa0 As an editor and contributor he has been on the masthead of five leading magazines, including \\u201cWorth\\u201d and \\u201cInc.\\u201d \\u2013 where he wrote the back-page column for five years \\u2013 and \\u201cCivilization\\u201d \\u2013 the magazine of the Library of Congress.
Adam began his career as a comedy writer for the legendary director Garry Marshall, writing scripts for \\u201cHappy Days\\u201d and \\u201cLaverne and Shirley.\\u201d \\xa0
Adam is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of New York University