NDA Meets Agency CTOs: Ross Barnes, Global CTO at The&Partnership

New Digital Age

NDA has launched a new podcast series, talking to CTOs at agencies to understand the meaning of the role today, especially how such individual's help select and maintaining the huge number of tech partners agencies now work with.

First up is Ross Barnes, Global CTO at The&Partnership.

We discuss how tech companies stand the best chance of getting Ross's attention to get their tech solution adopted by the agency and used by its clients, why he always wants a product person present in a pitch not just a saleperson, a CTO's role in guiding in-housing decisions by clients, and the opportunities and challenges of first-party data.

"I’m keen to build enterprise-level solutions for my agency and our clients. To sell into someone like me yoy need to focus on the business benefits not the ‘whiz bang’ shiny elements of the technology, In this role you need to be a professional cynic," he says.

Recently diagnosed with ADHD, he also discusses the need for the industry to hold itself more accountable on issues of diversity.