Sara Badler, Chief Advertising Officer, North America - The Guardian

Episode Summary:

Sara Badler, Chief Advertising Officer, North America, at The Guardian, joins The Seat to discuss her journey from early programmatic pioneer to C-suite leader at one of the world’s most respected news organizations. From building global teams at The New York Times and Dotdash Meredith to learning tough lessons at Morning Brew, Sara shares why outcomes matter more than titles and how patience, scrappiness, and ego-free leadership define modern executives.

Themes:

• Early days of programmatic advertising
• Building global programmatic at The New York Times
• Scaling revenue at Dotdash Meredith
• Lessons from Morning Brew
• Leadership evolution from IC to executive
• The 150% Rule for career growth
• Confidence vs. ego in leadership
• Cross-functional collaboration as a differentiator
• Premium publishing in a changing media landscape
• Mentorship and building a loyal bench

Chapters:

1. 00:00 – Intro
2. 01:43 – Growing Up in St. Louis & Moving to Asia
3. 04:24 – Discovering Ad Tech in Shanghai
4. 07:45 – Early Programmatic at Forbes
5. 10:33 – Leadership Begins at Hearst & The New York Times
6. 15:55 – Scaling at Dotdash & The 150% Rule
7. 19:25 – Imposter Syndrome & Corporate Politics
8. 23:56 – Why The Guardian
9. 32:29 – Red Flags, Hiring & Cross-Functional Growth
10. 40:00 – Morning Brew Lessons & Lightning Round

Keywords

Sara Badler, The Guardian, programmatic advertising, premium publishing, media leadership, chief advertising officer, ad tech, digital media, sales leadership, revenue growth, mentorship, women in leadership, programmatic sales, publishing industry, executive leadership, cross-functional collaboration

Sara's bio:

Sara Badler is Chief Advertising Officer, North America at The Guardian. She oversees advertising, marketing, operations, and global programmatic for one of the world’s most respected independent news organizations. Previously, she served as Chief Commercial Officer at Morning Brew and spent six years at Dotdash Meredith, where she rose to Chief Revenue Officer, Enterprise Advertising & Partnerships. Earlier in her career, Sara helped build programmatic at The New York Times and held business development roles at Hearst and Forbes. She also began her career internationally in Japan and China and serves on advisory boards including AdExchanger and Adelaide Metrics.

Ray's Bio:

Ray Erickson is the host of The Seat, a podcast featuring 1:1 conversations with revenue leaders across media, marketing, and advertising, unpacking the early days, mentors, setbacks, and pivotal moments that shaped how they lead today. Ray is a longtime ad/media sales leader with experience spanning digital ad tech, CTV, and sports media, and he created The Seat to sharpen his own leadership edge while paying it forward to the next generation of aspiring sales leaders.



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LinkedIn: The Seat Podcast (LinkedIn Page)

Host: Ray Erickson (LinkedIn)

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