Rishad Tobaccowala, ’82, is an author, advisor, and visionary: a company of one after nearly 40 years in advertising, where he last served as chief strategist and chief growth officer at Publicis Groupe, one of the largest and oldest marketing and communications firms in the world, with around 80,000 employees and headquarters in Paris.
His 2020 book, Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in the Age of Data, came out at a time when many books sat unshipped, airports were empty, and events went virtual. The “change or die” guru found himself in an existential dilemma. How could he get in front of business leaders when no one was at work?
First, he worked with publisher HarperCollins to create an electronic version of his book that could be emailed. Second, he sought virtual gigs—his speaking style (no notes, no PowerPoints) is a natural fit for Zoom. Third, he launched a weekly Substack email newsletter, now read by more than 25,000 people—of which hundreds are CEOs. Now his book has sold 30,000 copies.
“I reach more CEOs than the major business magazines,” he says, and chuckles, “So now who’s the media company?”