I joined Deb Knupp on the HX Collective podcast, and my episode is now live. If you’re thinking about what it means to lead, live and show up more fully – this one’s for you. Thank you, Deb, for the opportunity to tell my story and, Jennifer Tompkins, for your glorious production support.
Links to view/listen:
In this episode, Deb Knupp sits down with Roy Sexton, Chief Marketing Officer Vedder and one of legal marketing’s most visible advocates for showing up authentically, for a conversation that, as Deb puts it, feels like it started before they even hit record.
“Tell people what they will mean to you in the moment it will mean something to them.”
Roy has spent more than 25 years in marketing leadership, including nearly 15 years in legal marketing at some of the industry’s most prominent firms, and served as International President of the Legal Marketing Association. But this conversation isn’t really about marketing. It’s about the strategy, and the sincerity, behind telling people what they mean to you, and why Roy has built a career, a community, and a life around doing exactly that, out loud, in Technicolor, often in a Sesame Street shirt. The throughline is a piece of advice from Roy’s late mother: tell people what they will mean to you in the moment it will mean something to them, not at the funeral, not at the retirement party, and not with a Bundt cake that shows up right when everyone else’s does. Roy traces that instinct through a childhood spent making bullies laugh so they wouldn’t hurt him, a defining moment on stage at a Legal Marketing Association conference where he sang alongside a drag performer to make space for people who needed it, and a hard-won distinction between being nice and being kind. What emerges is a case for treating small, unscheduled moments, a comment on LinkedIn, a walk to someone’s desk, a text after a hard week, as the real work of building trust, long before anyone needs to cash it in.
Highlights:
The Bundt cake rule Roy learned from his mother: show up with support a month later, when people are alone with their feelings, not just in the first flood of casseroles.
Legal Marketing Association keynote where Roy sang “Born This Way” alongside drag performer Athena Dion, and what it told a room full of allies, and skeptics, about who the conference was really for.
The difference between nice and kind, and why the kindest thing is sometimes the direct thing, delivered with care.
Why business development can happen in the coffee line: Roy’s case for quick, genuine touchpoints, a comment, a reshare, a saw your kids off to college, over five-hour golf outings.
About Our Guest:
Roy Sexton is Chief Marketing Officer at Vedder, where he leads the firm’s marketing strategy, business development, and brand positioning. He brings more than 25 years of marketing leadership to the role, with nearly 15 of those years focused specifically on legal marketing at some of the country’s most prominent firms. A longtime volunteer leader in the field, Roy served on the international board of the Legal Marketing Association beginning in 2020 and was elected its International President for 2023 to 2024. His advocacy work extends well beyond the office: Roy has been recognized by Crain’s, INvolve, and Corp! Magazine for his leadership within the LGBTQ+ community, and he serves on the boards of Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Michigan. He is also, unmistakably, one of the most enthusiastic and generous connectors in legal marketing, a trait he traces straight back to his mother and grandfather.
About the HX Collective:
The HX Collective explores the human experience through three lenses: work, relationships, and self, through raw, authentic conversations rooted in human-centered design. Each episode offers gripping stories, thought-provoking discussion, and concrete tools that help you rethink your relationship with distress and strengthen your whole human experience.