George Popstefanov, Founder and CEO, PMG
George has shepherded the agency to land on the Inc. 500 and Deloitte Fast 500 lists of fastest growing companies, win seven Cannes Lions, rank among Ad Age’s Top “Best Places to Work” list, and be named iMedia’s “Agency of the Year.”
What has been your proudest career accomplishment to date?
I don’t want to sound cliched, but I feel like my best achievements are yet to come. Being on this list is obviously an extreme honor for me. At the age of 35, I’m super excited for the road ahead.
What’s the best piece of advice you can give to future 40 under 40 honorees?
My three pieces of advice to other winners include: keep your head down, ignore distractions and use your focus to rise above the noise; keep grinding towards your goals and remember that the most gratifying experiences usually come after a long journey; and always stay humble — remember that your achievements happened because of the support of others, as well as a bit of luck, so don’t let success get your head big.
What do you hope to accomplish in the next 5 years?
In the next five years, if I can successfully balance being a good leader, husband and father, I’ll be extremely happy. Excelling in just one of those things can be a challenge in general, and my hope is to drive myself, and also rely on the help of others, to be successful with all three.
What is one interesting fact about you that few people know?
I can sing the full soundtrack of Hamilton by heart. There’d be a thick Macedonian accent to go with it, but great music overcomes everything.
