I just finished working on an exciting feature that will run in next week’s edition of DMNews, called “The game changers: Five agency leaders who embrace direct marketing’s evolution — and are ready to play at the next level.” In addition, we added five online exclusive profiles of other direct marketing agency leaders that will run on the DMNews.com site. I was surprised to read how many of these top executives said that their greatest challenge was finding and keeping enough talent. Laura Lang, CEO of Digitas, for example, says: “If you were to ask me what keeps me up at night, it is definitely finding the right talent.” And Dianne Wilkins, CEO of Critical Mass, says it demands “real perseverance to grow and maintain the quality of staff we’ve been able to develop.” Finally, Lynn Fantom, Chairman and CEO if ID Media, says: “Every great direct and digital media agency today has the same challenge — to get and keep the best talent in an environment where there’s more demand than supply.”
