The Vanguard: Alex Lubar on Curiosity and Contextual Empathy
Alert. Curious. Relentless. Alex Lubar gives the impression of someone who never stops moving forward. Recently, that energy has been in service of connective and galvanising DDB, the 75 year young global network that essentially ushered in the modern age of advertising. Alex joined as COO before stepping up to the global CEO role, and it’s been a whirlwind.
Alex’s respect for the network’s legacy and current community is palpable - he describes it as ‘an extraordinary creative agency network with an unmatched legacy of developing ground-breaking work that moves people’. His focus over the past seven months has been on striking that tricky balance of bringing the international family closer together while facilitating the freedom and entrepreneurialism that’s allowed the network to thrive internationally. He points to the shared values and beliefs across DDB Worldwide as being one of the key factors behind its success last year at Cannes, where it was named Network of the Year 2023.
“Part of the success of DDB is the uniqueness of our construct,” explains Alex. “We have and still encourage our agencies to be distinctive and successful unto themselves, but we are all connected by a shared belief in the power of emotionally resonant work, delivered at scale to drive growth for our clients. I have found it enormously satisfying to find ways of further uniting our agencies globally while ensuring that they have enough flexibility to tailor their offering to each of their markets. In a creative business like ours, it’s essential that there is a level of freedom for the pursuit of truly inspiring work. Freedom must exist within a framework of shared values, expectations and behaviours.”
It’s a big job and one that benefits from Alex’s ability to generate momentum. He’s decisive and not one to waste too much time ruminating on the coulda-woulda-shouldas. It’s a mindset that prioritises clarity.
“I’ve made plenty of mistakes, and still do,” says Alex. “The key, I believe, is to own up to the mistakes, learn from them and move on. It’s impossible to have a perfect track record, but what you can do is not dwell on your missteps but identify how you can do it better the next time. You need to keep moving and keep driving momentum. Someone far smarter than me once said, “I didn’t always make the best decisions, but I made the most decisions.” Even if you make a bad decision, chances are there’s a good decision to be made right around the corner. Just keep going.”
Alex’s internal combustion engine, that passion and commitment, is something that’s always been there. Leadership was not something Alex necessarily aspired to, rather it’s something that’s been a consequence of that inner fire.
“I wanted to do well at what I pursued in my career, if the result has been that I’m in a leadership position, then that is a by-product of being enthusiastic and motivated to create positive output and effect in the companies that I’ve worked for,” he says. “I think the idea that I set out to lead is disingenuous. First and foremost, I set out to do good work with great people. That said, if you find yourself in a leadership position, you must deliver your role with humility, empathy, and collective focus. I believe that good leaders have even better people around them. This is a team sport and I would never have been successful without the incredible partnerships around me.”
That passion and openness has also always been present. Growing up in London as the son of an American father and French mother, Alex was surrounded by a constant stream of friends and family stopping by from all over the world. Interacting with people from different walks of life, with different attitudes and experiences, was a perfect grounding for a career in the international advertising industry. These days, his colleagues, clients and friends are from all over and his wife is from Mexico (“It’s also quite helpful in a World Cup, because I always have a backup team…” he jokes.)
Looking back, those formative experiences bestowed a forward-leaning sense of inquisitiveness. “I suppose it made me quite precocious, and anyone with precocious kids will tell you it can cut a couple of ways... but certainly, I was always very curious about a variety of subjects and cultures. It never occurred to me that there was only one way of doing things, since I was always surrounded by different approaches to life. “
That curiosity — coupled with a fascination with American culture and an obsession with American sports- took a young Alex across the Atlantic. He ended up attending a small liberal arts college in Pennsylvania. There he revelled in the variety afforded by the US college system — things are much more narrow in the UK, but the American approach was far better suited to Alex’s insatiable curiosity.
“It was also very educational to jump into an environment that I was totally unfamiliar with,” says Alex. “It taught me how to adapt, be flexible, and find my place quickly in a totally new world. I believe pushing your comfort zone is a wonderfully expedient way to grow and evolve as an individual.”
He left college having studied English and Russian literature, and with no real idea about advertising. However the industry turned out to be a perfect fit. “I did love storytelling, inciting emotion, and conveying ideas in thoughtful and compelling ways. I was also starting to develop an interest in the business world — and how an economy really grows, sustains, and supports itself. Advertising was, and is, a perfect mix of the creative and business world. It’s a place where new ideas are embraced and encouraged, whilst being grounded in the reality of building enterprise. It’s a true balance of both sides of the brain.”
He started his career with a series of account exec roles at places like Rapp Collins, The Ad Store and BBH, before becoming SVP of New Business at Grey. But it was at McCann where he really started to take the lead. Starting with chief marketing officer roles, first in New York, then globally, Alex became the CEO of McCann London for three and a half years. He then headed to Singapore, where he was president of McCann Worldgroup APAC and, two and half years later, he stepped into the president role for North America.
With experience in New York, London and Singapore, particularly working across regional roles, Alex learned much about the nuances of leadership across different cultures. It was, of course, foundational for his current task of unifying and championing DDB across the globe.
“Context is paramount, and without a solid understanding of the idiosyncrasies that drive the environment and its players within, it is very hard to succeed,” reflects Alex. “However, there are always universal truths that drive humans no matter their situation. They want to be heard, respected, encouraged and inspired. This has been my experience no matter what country or region I’ve worked in. The key is understanding how to deliver those universal desires in varying environments. The specifics of what respect or inspiration might look like for individuals in different circumstances might be quite different at a surface level, but the importance of those needs remains the same.”
That appreciation of context goes beyond culture to understanding that you’re working with individuals, each bringing their own perspectives, circumstances and experiences to work. But, again, that’s second nature for Alex, who has been immersed in diverse people and cultures from his youth.
“A strong leader understands ‘contextual empathy,’ which means an appreciation that we all enter interactions with each other from different starting points,” he says. “If we can always try to appreciate that, then we stand a better chance of seeing eye-to-eye and aligning on a shared direction. This requires taking the time and interest to understand each other's circumstances and the lives we each lead. Am I engaging with someone who has a good day or a bad day? What else is going on in their lives outside of work that might impact this discussion? Is this a subject they know and like or is it new and potentially intimidating?
“As leaders, we should always strive to create psychologically safe places for our people, and I believe that the route to getting there is through ‘contextual empathy’.”
Unlike many CEOs, one thing that is unusual about Alex’s path is that agency chief marketing officer role. It’s a role that focuses on business development but also touches on an agency’s reputation and how it communicates. As Alex has moved into this global leadership role, his leadership approach has had to scale too, and ultimately that’s something he views as a communication challenge.
“Part of the solution is technology, but the bigger part is finding ways to connect directly with the broader community in the agency or network,” he says. “That means communicating as much as possible either virtually or ideally in-market and in-person. The broader leadership team must embrace the same behaviours, perspectives and attitudes that are demonstrated at the centre. There’s no use in me preaching all sorts of good stuff, if it all falls apart at a local level. There needs to be a shared belief system that runs through the organisation.”
As driven and passionate as Alex is about the business and about being a responsible and responsive leader, perhaps one of the things that allows him to keep going is that he also has passions and interests outside of the day job. Sport is still a big thing for him - though these days he prefers running and tennis to basketball (when he first moved to the US for college, “it became apparent I was better at warming the bench than dominating the court,” he jokes).
“When you travel a lot like I do, it’s helpful to have a sport that you can easily do anywhere. Running doesn’t take much gear. Just shoes, shorts and a T-shirt. One of my favourite things to do is go for a run at the break of dawn in a city I'm visiting anywhere in the world. It’s an outstanding way to explore a new environment. Plus, there’s a special kind of calm to even the busiest of cities early in the morning,” he says. “I like tennis because, in contrast to running, it has a social dynamic. And if you’re lucky you can also play it your whole life.”
Free time is a rare quantity these days, particularly as a father of three under nines, but when he’s not making pancakes or ferrying children between sports fields, he finds inspiration by looking to history. “ I’ve gotten really into historic biographies. I’ve lost many hours to the works of Caro, Chernow, and Roberts. Extraordinary biographers that really bring to life some of the world’s most impactful leaders. I find it helpful and nourishing to have interests that inhabit a space very different from my day-to-day work.”
Synthesising his own experience with insights into some of history’s greatest movers and shakers, has given Alex a fair overview of some of the universals of leadership - though for anyone who is figuring out their own leadership style, Alex also suggests that great leaders don’t try to force themselves into an imagined archetype.
“There are certainly consistent qualities that make for good leaders: you need to listen, respect, empathise, and inspire. But you also need to be consistent, provide clarity, and lead by example,” he says. “I cannot emphasise the importance of the past point. If you want people and an organisation to support and believe you, you must be willing to run towards the fires and share in the toughest battles. If, as a leader, you don’t put yourself in the line of fire then why on earth should anyone else in your organisation do so?
“Finally, the best leaders tend to be the most authentic leaders, which means they absolutely lead in their own way. We don’t want a world of cookie-cutter leaders, we want a variety of different styles, perspectives and approaches. But they certainly need to all operate with integrity... even if their style of delivery runs the gamut.”
Back at DDB, Alex is welcoming a new member to the global leadership team, and one who certainly can’t be described as ‘cookie cutter’, as Chaka Sobhani joins as global CCO. It marks the start of the next chapter in Alex’s journey with the network. And together with the global COO Glen Lomas, they’re set to lead DDB into its next 75 years.
