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Latest “All the World’s YOUR Stage” – Leaving the Margins and Grabbing the Spotlight with Aarash Darroodi

10 April 2024

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Latest episode here.

At six months old, Aarash Darroodi’s parents, who were foreign students in the US, sent their son back to Iran to live with his grandparents so they could complete their graduate studies at the University of Houston. That was 1979. A year later, the Iran-Iraq War erupted. It took seven years and attempts in many countries to get a US visa before Darroodi would reunite with his family in America. That experience, Darroodi says, shaped his life, which would forever be changed.

As General Counsel & Executive Vice President of Fender, Aarash Darroodi has developed a successful 20-year in-house legal career on the idea of melding a traditional legal education/experience with business acumen and business intelligence. He leverages his personal history to lead with empathy and pragmatism. Aarash is quite simply and beautifully a connector. He also has developed the course “How to Build a Rain Machine” through which he teaches lawyers what in-house clients really want. Equipping outside counsel with the secret skills and tactics to maximize client billings, client retention, and client satisfaction. Learn more here: https://www.rainstaracademy.com/. 

“Everybody has a story when you connect to humanity,” Darroodi says. “What you realize is that those stories bring a lot of life learning, and there is a lot of power that’s locked up within people that they feel that they should hide it away and not embrace it. I fundamentally disagree. I think you embrace it because those are where the learnings come from. … I just don’t want to see the resume, I want to know the story. What were some of the challenges you faced in your life? How did you overcome them? What did you learn from those challenges? How do you think those challenges will help you in the future? That’s valuable. That’s what I want to see. I want those people, the ones that have overcome difficulties and challenges. … People are more capable than they know … But people themselves, a lot of times, we need somebody to see that within us and push us, and then we can achieve greatness we never thought possible.”

The fundamental power of storytelling, of reclaiming our individual narratives, and of celebrating our differences will be the focus of this episode. The human condition can be one of “categorizing” others, and thereby limiting potential. Aarash and Roy will discuss how important it is to break that cycle and how each individual can embrace respective heritage as a means of authentic differentiation and professional branding. They will also address the business benefits to leaders who model this for their colleagues and their teams.

Darroodi is an in-demand speaker and pundit, having offered commentary to Bloomberg Law, Thomson Reuters, The Legal 500, TedX, the American Bar Association, American Lawyer Media, South by Southwest, the Association  of Corporate Counsel, the Legal Marketing Association, Fox Business, The Los Angeles Times, and the Maryland State Bar Association.

“All the World’s YOUR Stage” … Stop overthinking and just connect with Jay Harrington

11 March 2024

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View latest episode here.

Jay Harrington is president of his eponymous agency Harrington and is one of the country’s leading consultants and strategists in the areas of legal marketing, PR, and business development. His consulting work includes helping clients define strong market branding and positioning, develop effective thought-leadership strategies, gain visibility through public relations, and generate new business through the execution of marketing tactics.

Jay practices what he preaches. He doesn’t merely consult with clients about the importance of thought-leadership PR and marketing—he is an active content creator himself. He frequently speaks and writes on important issues and trends in legal marketing. His writing is featured in columns for Law.com, JD Supra, and Attorney at Work. He is also the author of three books: The Productivity Pivot, The Essential Associate, and One of a Kind.

Following February’s conversation with Laura Gassner Otting about “getting unstuck,” Jay and Roy discuss how important thought leadership is to personal and professional branding and provide tips on how to stop overthinking and just connect, leveraging the power of social media and digital channels.

Jay leads a vibrant attorney coaching and training practice, through which he provides one-on-one coaching and group training to attorneys and law firms, with a focus on issues related to business development, productivity, and thought leadership.

Jay is a sought after speaker who frequently presents to law firms and legal industry associations on a range of topics including branding, thought-leadership marketing, and business development. His unique approach blends storytelling, strategy, behavioral science, and practical, actionable advice.

Prior to co-founding the agency 15 years ago, Jay practiced law as a commercial litigator and corporate bankruptcy attorney at top law firms, including Skadden Arps and Foley & Lardner. He also co-founded and ran a boutique corporate restructuring law firm. He has an undergraduate degree in journalism and earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. During his time practicing law, Jay learned what it takes to market successfully and develop business for sophisticated professional services, and he applies those lessons while working with clients today.

Keep on movin’… inclusion, community building, authentic storytelling

22 February 2024

2 Comments

Thank you, Anna Spektor, Alex Kasdan, and Expert Webcast, for hearing my voice, seeing something in my perspective, and encouraging me to build on momentum from 2023. I’m one for synergies. Any marketer worth their salt is. And this is a lovely and unique opportunity for worlds to collide, elevating all in the process.

Original post here.

“We are pleased to welcome Roy Sexton, Clark Hill’s Director of Marketing and Immediate Past International President of the Legal Marketing Association, to the Expert Webcast Advisory Board. As a thought leader and marketing expert, Roy, in this volunteer role, will continue to champion inclusion, community building, authentic storytelling, and value creation. Roy hosts Expert Webcast’s ‘All the World’s YOUR Stage’ series, focusing on how these qualities lead to growth in one’s personal and professional brand. He has 25 years of experience in marketing, communications, business development, and strategic planning across a number of industries, including legal, healthcare, higher education, nonprofits, and consulting.”

From The Sun Times: “Saline’s Roy Sexton is Hosting a New Show Featuring Accessible, Fun and Authentic Conversations”

24 January 2024

2 Comments

Thank you, Sun Times News! Original post here.

Roy Sexton is excited to share some inspiring stories with the world.

Joining with Expert Webcast in launching a new series, Sexton is hosting a new show called “All the World’s YOUR Stage: Authentic Culture Drives Authentic Growth.” 

Sexton, a Saline resident who is the Clark Hill Director of Marketing and Immediate Past International President of the Legal Marketing Association, said this new show is an exciting opportunity to share his friends’ stories.

“I’m thrilled to be able to share my friends and their inspiring stories with the world. These professionals all have incredible and varied careers, rich with life lessons that can help others succeed and thrive in their respective work,” Sexton said in the Expert Webcast announcement. “I come from a long line of storytellers, and I think the best way to learn and to be inspired is by sharing our journeys with each other.”

Sexton leads Clark Hill’s marketing, branding, and communications efforts in collaboration with the firm’s exceptional team of marketing and business development professionals. He has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, business development, and strategic planning.

Sexton’s show is expected to feature discussions “with notable business leaders on why culture matters, how one’s personal and professional brand are inextricably linked, and how to leverage your innate authenticity to create growth and spur sustainable organizational change.”

Expert Webcast is a woman-owned company and is a leading source of transactional wisdom and market intelligence for the professional and the business communities locally, nationally and cross-border. 

Producing the industry’s leading panel discussions and interviews covering corporate, M&A, restructuring and finance topics, Expert Webcast said it “addresses timely and relevant issues faced by general counsel, C-level executives, boards of directors, business owners and their advisors, as well as institutional investors.”

Anna Spektor, Expert Webcast’s Founder and CEO, said they are looking forward to what Sexton’s show will bring.

“We partner with leading media outlets and organizations to expand the reach and impact of the platform, and to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among industry peers and stakeholders,” Spektor said in the announcement. “Roy is a welcome addition to our voices. We’ve already recorded our first episode [with Blaine Fowler], and I’m just thrilled with the direction. I think our viewers – attorney leaders, executives, professional services practitioners – will gain great insight from these accessible, fun, authentic conversations.”

Spektor added, “As an acknowledged business leader and a top legal marketing, communications and strategic planning executive, Roy will add a new dimension to the Expert Webcast legal, finance and transactional programming by interviewing entrepreneurs, media personalities and other business leaders, focusing on business culture, growth and collaboration.”

Sexton is described as being passionate about problem solving, facilitating business growth, crafting communications strategy, and enhancing law firm culture. He works closely with the marketing team to advance the firm’s digital and social media presence and external engagement, using multi-channel distribution and data collection. This enables the team to quantify results and use those results to produce thoughtfully and strategically organized content for clients and prospects.

Sexton also advises attorneys on marketing and business development strategy by curating relationships among external publications and media outlets and creating the appropriate platforms and opportunities for attorneys to promote their knowledge and practice.

He has been heavily involved regionally and nationally in the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) as a board member, content expert, and presenter. He currently serves as Past President of LMA. He also serves on the governance board committee of Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and was marketing chair for Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor’s board.

Sexton was named one of INvolve People’s 2023 Top 100 OUTstanding LGBTQ+ Executives internationally. He was listed in Crain’s Detroit
“Notable LGBTQ in Business” in 2021 and “Notable Leaders in Marketing” in 2023, and he was a Michigan Lawyers Weekly“Unsung Legal Hero” (2018).

In 2022, Clark Hill’s marketing campaign, which Sexton played a key role in developing, received the Best Marketing Campaign award from the Managing Partners’ Forum in London, celebrating professional services organizations. The campaign was noted for its focus on values, diversity, and inclusion. The Clark Hill marketing and business development team was also awarded “Best Marketing Initiative” by Managing Partners’ Forum in 2020.

Sexton is also a published author of two books: Reel Roy Reviews, Volumes 1 and 2and he was named “Best Actor in a Musical” by BroadwayWorld Detroit in 2017 for his performance as Jasper in The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Ann Arbor Civic.

Sexton’s first season’s guests will include:

  • 96.3 WDVD’s morning show co-host of Blaine and Lauren Blaine D. Fowler
  • The Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Wonderhell and Limitless
    as well as keynote speaker and coach Laura Gassner Otting
  • Author/coach/recovering attorney/president of Harrington Communications Jay Harrington
  • Fender Musical Instruments Corporation General Counsel/Executive Vice President/Corporate Secretary Aarash Darroodi
  • Counselor and spiritual coach Julie Booksh, MA, LPC
  • FOX 2 Detroit prime time anchor Roop Raj
  • Eastern Michigan University General Counsel and Executive Director of The Penny Seats theatre company Lauren M. London
  • Keynote speaker/corporate comedian/client care strategist Brenda Pontiff of Partner Track Academy
  • Professor of Psychology, Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience Area, University of Michigan and author Stephanie Preston
  • President and CEO of Detroit Regional Partnership Maureen Donohue Krauss, FM
  • Storyteller + Strategist: on stage and behind the scenes, award-winning voiceover artist Ratana
  • Communications Manager at Walt Disney Imagineering Dana C. Harvey, MBA

“I’m thrilled to be able to share my friends and their inspiring stories with the world.” Dbusiness covers launch of “All the World’s YOUR Stage: Authentic Culture Drives Authentic Growth”

23 January 2024

5 Comments

Thank you, R.J. King and DBusiness Magazine. You are always very kind to me. You do so much good for our Metro Detroit community. And you are appreciated.

Read article here.

Roy Sexton, director of marketing for Clark Hill Law, will host a new show called “All the World’s YOUR Stage: Authentic Culture Drives Authentic Growth” for Expert Webcast, a woman-owned company and source of market intelligence for the professional and the business communities locally, nationally, and cross-border.

It produces panel discussions and interviews covering corporate, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and finance topics, expert webcast addresses timely and relevant issues faced by general counsel, C-level executives, boards of directors, business owners, and their advisors, as well as institutional investors.

Sexton’s webcast will feature discussions with notable business leaders on why culture matters, how one’s personal and professional brand are inextricably linked, and how to use innate authenticity to create growth and spur sustainable organizational change.

The first season’s guests will include Blaine D. Fowler, 96.3 WDVD’s morning show co-host of “Blaine and Lauren;” Laura Gassner Otting, The Wall Street Journal best-selling author of “Wonderhell” and “Limitless” as well as keynote speaker and coach; Jay Harrington, author/coach/recovering attorney/president of Harrington Communications; Aarash Darroodi, vice president and corporate secretary and general counsel for Fender Musical Instruments Corporation; Roop Raj, prime time anchor for FOX 2 Detroit; and Lauren M. London, general counsel for Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti and executive director of The Penny Seats.

“I’m thrilled to be able to share my friends and their inspiring stories with the world,” says Sexton. “These professionals all have incredible and varied careers, rich with life lessons that can help others succeed and thrive in their respective work. I come from a long line of storytellers, and I think the best way to learn and to be inspired is by sharing our journeys with each other.”

Sexton leads Clark Hill’s marketing, branding, and communications efforts in collaboration with the firm’s team of marketing and business development professionals. He has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, business development, and strategic planning.

Sexton is a published author of two books: “Reel Roy Reviews,” Volumes 1 and 2 and he was named Best Actor in a Musical by BroadwayWorld Detroit in 2017 for his performance as Jasper in “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” at Ann Arbor Civic Theatre.

Detroit Legal News covers launch of Expert Webcast series “All the World’s YOUR Stage”

17 January 2024

4 Comments

Thank you, Brian Cox and Brad Thompson! You and the Legal News have been so kind to me for nearly 15 (!) years now!

Original article: https://www.legalnews.com/Home/Articles?DataId=1540542

Expert Webcast has launched a new series hosted by Clark Hill director of marketing and immediate past international president of the Legal Marketing Association Roy Sexton.

Titled “All the World’s YOUR Stage: Authentic Culture Drives Authentic Growth,” the show will feature discussions with notable business leaders on why culture matters, how one’s personal and professional brand are inextricably linked, and how to leverage your innate authenticity to create growth and spur sustainable organizational change.

The first season’s guests will include:

  • 96.3 WDVD’s morning show co-host of Blaine and Lauren Blaine D. Fowler
  • The Wall Street Journal best-selling author of Wonderhell and Limitless as well as keynote speaker and coach Laura Gassner Otting
  • Author/coach/recovering attorney/ president of Harrington Communications Jay Harrington
  • Fender Musical Instruments Corporation General Counsel/Executive Vice President/Corporate Secretary Aarash Darroodi
  • Counselor and spiritual coach Julie Booksh, MA, LPC
  • FOX 2 Detroit prime time anchor Roop Raj (TBD)
  • Eastern Michigan University General Counsel and Executive Director of The Penny Seats theatre company Lauren M. London
  • Keynote speaker/corporate comedian/client care strategist Brenda Pontiff of Partner Track Academy
  • Professor of Psychology, Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience Area, University of Michigan and author Stephanie Preston
  • President and CEO of Detroit Regional Partnership Maureen Donohue Krauss, FM
  • Storyteller + Strategist: on stage and behind the scenes, award-winning voice­over artist Ratana
  • Communications Manager at Walt Disney Imagineering Dana C. Harvey, MBA

“I’m thrilled to be able to share my friends and their inspiring stories with the world. These professionals all have incredible and varied careers, rich with life lessons that can help others succeed and thrive in their respective work,” Sexton observed. “I come from a long line of storytellers, and I think the best way to learn and to be inspired is by sharing our journeys with each other.”

Expert Webcast is a woman-owned company and is a leading source of transactional wisdom and market intelligence for the professional and the business communities locally, nationally and cross-border. Producing the industry’s leading panel discussions and interviews covering corporate, M&A, restructuring and finance topics, Expert Webcast addresses timely and relevant issues faced by general counsel, C-level executives, boards of directors, business owners and their advisors, as well as institutional investors.

“We partner with leading media outlets and organizations to expand the reach and impact of the platform, and to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among industry peers and stakeholders,” Anna Spektor, Expert Webcast’s Founder and CEO, noted. “Roy is a welcome addition to our voices. We’ve already recorded our first episode [with Blaine Fowler], and I’m just thrilled with the direction. I think our viewers – attorney leaders, executives, professional services practitioners – will gain great insight from these accessible, fun, authentic conversations.”

Roy Sexton leads Clark Hill’s marketing, branding, and communications efforts in collaboration with the firm’s team of marketing and business development professionals. He has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, business development, and strategic planning.

“As an acknowledged business leader and a top legal marketing, communications and strategic planning executive, Roy will add a new dimension to the Expert Webcast legal, finance and transactional programming by interviewing entrepreneurs, media personalities and other business leaders, focusing on business culture, growth and collaboration,” Spektor added.

Sexton is passionate about problem solving, facilitating business growth, crafting communications strategy, and enhancing law firm culture. He works closely with the marketing team to advance the firm’s digital and social media presence and external engagement, using multi-channel distribution and data collection. This enables the team to quantify results and use those results to produce thoughtfully and strategically organized content for clients and prospects.

Sexton also advises attorneys on marketing and business development strategy by curating relationships among external publications and media outlets and creating the appropriate platforms and opportunities for attorneys to promote their knowledge and practice.

He has been heavily involved regionally and nationally in the Legal Marketing Association – LMA International (LMA) as a board member, content expert, and presenter. He currently serves as Past President of LMA. He also serves on the governance board committee of Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and was marketing chair for Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor’s board.

Sexton was named one of INvolve People’s 2023 Top 100 OUTstanding LGBTQ+ Executives internationally. He was listed in Crain’s Detroit Business’ “Notable LGBTQ in Business” in 2021 and “Notable Leaders in Marketing” in 2023, and he was a Michigan Lawyers Weekly “Unsung Legal Hero” (2018).

In 2022, Clark Hill’s marketing campaign, which Sexton played a key role in developing, received the Best Marketing Campaign award from the Managing Partners’ Forum in London, celebrating professional services organizations. The campaign was noted for its focus on values, diversity, and inclusion. The Clark Hill marketing and business development team was also awarded “Best Marketing Initiative” by Managing Partners’ Forum in 2020.

Sexton is a published author of two books: ReelRoyReviews, Volumes 1 and 2 and he was named “Best Actor in a Musical” by BroadwayWorld in 2017 for his performance as Jasper in The Mystery of Edwin Drood at Ann Arbor Civic Theatre.

“Boy Bands who dance make more money.” 98 Degrees’ “Let It Snow” concert at Detroit’s Sound Board – PLUS, The Barn Christmas Cabaret, Blaine Fowler, and Christmas Story Live!

18 December 2017

9 Comments

98 degrees 2

“Boy Bands who dance make more money,” 98 Degrees’ Nick Lachey observed wryly during a pre-show Q&A at Detroit’s Sound Board in the Motor City Casino on Sunday, December 16. The band was in town with their holiday music tour At Christmas, supporting their recent album Let It Snow. This is their second volume of Christmas tunes, the first being 1999’s This Christmas.

Nick’s answer followed a question about what the 40-somethings (Nick Lachey, his brother Drew Lachey, Jeff Timmons, and Justin Jeffre) would say if they could talk to their younger selves 20 years ago during the band’s seminal days. The other band member answered variations of “just enjoy this, don’t worry so much, and have fun.” Nick’s answer got the biggest laughs for candor and practicality. He surmised, if only he’d allowed himself to be choreographed more or dangle from a trapeze or do back flips, he’d have Justin Timberlake’s career. (Ironic, since his brother Drew was an early winner on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars.)

It was this very inclusive humility that made the boys-to-middle-aged-men so endearing Sunday night. At the mid-point in most pop music careers, there seem to be three doors from which to choose: 1) recycle your own hits before smaller-and-smaller venues; 2) start cranking out “standards collections” (do we really need any more covers of “Someone to Watch Over Me”?); 3) grab a particular holiday and ride the wheels off it (thank you, Perry Como). 98 Degrees have wisely chosen the last option which suits their bromantic ski-lodge cocoa-sipping aesthetic very nicely.

We wisely chose the “VIP upgrade” Sunday night which afforded us a sound check performance, the aforementioned Q&A, a photo op meet-and-greet, and a thoughtfully arrayed “swag bag” (autographed poster, ornament, etc.). I would recommend that to anyone seeing them live. Behind-the-scenes (as well as onstage) they were self-effacing, gracious, and altogether charming. I suspect this hard-earned humility came from years of living in- and out-side the spotlight, both as a vocal group that was generally and unfairly overshadowed by Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC and as solo reality television stars (chagrined George Burns-esque hubby Nick, gold-plated hoofer Drew, and Magic Mike-ish Svengali Jeff) and occasional politicians (thank you, progressive Justin).

As for the show? It’s pretty exceptional. The winsomeness on display informally is manifest in a stage presence that is professional and rehearsed, inclusive and loose and confidently casual, with nary a hint of swagger, and with an authentic appreciation for the fact that people in the audience are still willing to shell out some cash at the holidays to see these Cincinnati kids sing and (sort of) dance. (This is actually our third time seeing them live – once in 2000, and during their first reunion tour in 2013.)

Backed by a strong rhythm section, keyboards, and backing vocalists, 98 Degrees breeze through two hours of holiday music and greatest hits, including a daffy and endearing Disney medley that includes their Stevie Wonder duet from Mulan “True to Your Heart” as well as a take on “Let It Go” (Frozen) that only proud, lightly woke Gen X fathers-of-young-daughters could perform and a breathtaking “Circle of Life” from The Lion King.

“Little Drummer Boy” gets a much needed beat-box refresh; Joni Mitchell’s “River” becomes a sonorous but no less poignant pop anthem; “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” (which we learned was their Motown Records audition song twenty years ago) is given new life as a creamy and rich a cappella number; and their own hit “Una Noche” gets a fizzy infusion of “Feliz Navidad.”

I’m not a fan of holiday music. I think it’s all been run into the ground, and any time a new carol comes along, department store Muzak and pop radio eviscerate its novelty within mere minutes of its arrival. Consequently, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed hearing “Mary, Did You Know?” or “Run Rudolph Run” sincerely delivered by capable vocalists taking the music but not themselves too seriously.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. If these boys dedicate their remaining swoon-worthy days to a career of cardigans and holiday doo wop, I’ll gladly follow along. And that is totally unlike me, so well done, lads, well done.

_____________________________

While I’m recommending holiday (and other) entertainment …

We saw the Barn Theatre’s holiday cabaret during its opening weekend and really enjoyed it. Maybe I’m not such a Grinch after all. From talented critic and pal Marin Heinritz –  “It all feels like an intimate family affair — the way we perhaps imagine the holidays to be in our dreams, where everyone is beautiful and happy and talented and welcome; and folks full of love and cheer get together to make merry and shine bright in honor of something much larger than us.” Read her review here.

And my buddy Blaine Fowler, host of the daily Blaine Fowler Morning Show, released a great album 49783 on iTunes and Amazon about a month or so ago in time for his birthday. I’ve been listening to it for awhile, and as I mentioned to him in a text, “Loving it! I’m hearing the influences of Led Zeppelin, Stewart Copeland of the Police, Corey Hart, Rush, a little Maroon 5, Bryan Adams, and The Kinks. Yet, uniquely your own. Production is polished where it should be and rough hewn and funky where not. Your voice is featured nicely as well with catchy at times haunting melodies and heartfelt lyrics.” Check it out!

And because we were at the concert last night, I have not had a chance yet to watch Fox’s live broadcast of A Christmas Story: The Musical – directed by Scott Ellis (She Loves Me, Mystery of Edwin Drood), in fact, the uncle of Blaine Fowler’s cohost Lauren Crocker.

My mom Susie Duncan Sexton offered her enthusiastic take: “It was excellent and clever and added some sensitive-oriented stuff. Great Busby Berkeley-type numbers. Loved all of the three main women and Matthew Broderick…clever use of him to the max. The little boy looks like Jane Krakowski but she makes a darling teacher and Maya and Ana are great. Bully boy quite interesting…little brother looks like Ned Beatty. The story being musicalized gives it true zing.” It got Susie’s seal of approval! I look forward to catching up with this one later this week on the DVR.

_____________________________

Reel Roy Reviews is now TWO books! You can purchase your copies by clicking here (print and digital). In addition to online ordering at Amazon or from the publisher Open Books, the first book is currently is being carried by Bookbound, Common Language Bookstore, and Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room in Ann Arbor, Michigan and by Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, Michigan. My mom Susie Duncan Sexton’s Secrets of an Old Typewriter series is also available on Amazon and at Bookbound and Common Language.