Two operators who have actually done this.

2026 TIME100 Creator. Founded Zen Media at 22, sold it 17 years later.

Shama Hyder is a business strategist, AI authority, keynote speaker, and bestselling author who helps leaders separate signals from noise and turn technological change into growth. She was named a 2026 TIME100 Creator for her work at the intersection of emerging technology and human behavior. Hyder founded Zen Media at 22 as one of the earliest remote-first companies in the United States, grew it into a globally recognized B2B marketing and PR agency serving Fortune 500 clients, and sold it 17 years later. Today, she is co-founder and CEO of Roster & Co., the executive advisory she launched with Nick Tran, TikTok's former Global Head of Marketing, helping leaders turn AI into growth. Roster's Rewired programs teach AI fluency to executives and teams. Hyder is also the creator of the Six Signals framework and the Hyder Index, Applied AI Evangelist for Wispr Flow, and a Professor of Practice at Link School of Business. She has delivered more than 500 keynotes across 26 countries.

My onboarding has usually looked like someone else's crisis. Taco Bell getting sued over whether its beef was real. Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 catching fire. Stance becoming a direct-to-consumer brand after major wholesale partners went bankrupt. Hulu being acquired by Disney. TikTok facing a potential ban by executive order. Farfetch nearing bankruptcy before it was acquired.

That is the job. Build the brand in the middle of uncertainty. Make it culturally relevant, move fast, and do it without creating the next crisis. I have done that at Taco Bell, Samsung, Hulu, Stance, TikTok, and Farfetch. Now I am doing it for CÎROC Vodka and Lobos 1707 Tequila as President and CMO of First Round, the Diageo and Main Street Advisors joint venture scaling both brands across North America.

At Hulu, we pulled off the World Record Egg on Instagram and convinced the world Tom Brady was retiring, all in one Super Bowl. At TikTok, I built the first global marketing organization and launched “It Starts on TikTok” as the platform pushed past a billion users. At First Round, the big bet is CÎROC Athletic Club, a lifestyle platform built around the move from nightlife to leisure: padel at Coachella, pickleball in Napa, celebrity tennis at Desert Smash.

Fast food. Fashion. Entertainment. Tech. Spirits. The throughline is the same. The brands that win earn a seat in the conversation people are already having, then move fast enough to meaningfully participate in it.

That is why Roster & Co exists. Shama and I believe the companies that win this next era will not treat AI as a reason to cut. They will use it to redeploy their best people into better work, build new capabilities, and create the kind of cultural relevance competitors cannot spreadsheet their way into.

Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. Forbes Most Influential CMO. Multiple Cannes Lions. Dad.