MENTORdna guest – Page 4

April 26, 2021June 28, 2021

Steve Scalia, CEO Tanner Pharma Group

Steve Scalia, President Tanner Pharma Group

Steve Scalia and I became fast friends during our days at Penn. I considered him my ride-or-die and through the years we’ve been by each other’s side through highs and lows in career and life.

Steve’s ability to listen…and I mean truly LISTEN, set him apart from most. He remembers seemingly minutiae details through our conversations and brings them back around years later when I’m on the phone late night with him discussing business strategy, career moves, or the challenges of raising kids.

He’s incredibly talented at learning through the eyes of others. He’s a consummate student and takes lessons learned from everyone around him and applies them to his own teams and businesses. You won’t find anyone more loyal than Steve, as evidenced by his partnerships with friends he’s known since elementary school days.

We share some good laughs and you’ll see that this charming Southern man delivers what he says to his team and businesses.

Steve Scalia’s bio

Steve leads all global business activities at Tanner Pharma, with responsibility for commercial growth, strategy, cross-divisional support functions and compliance. In addition to overseeing the operating company, Steve is a leading member of the Tanner Risk Council, the Corporate Governance Leadership Team, the Executive Leadership Team, the Senior Management Team and the Tax & Corp Structure Advisory Committee.

In his previous role with Bourne Partners (Tanner Pharma’s parent company), Steve served as an Operating Partner with oversight of portfolio company operations for BurnsAdler Pharmaceuticals, Theramed Pharma, EnviroMaster-Tampa and Tanner Pharmaceuticals.

Prior to joining Bourne Partners and Tanner Pharma, Steve co-founded and launched three start-up motorcycle dealerships that included exclusive franchises for Harley-Davidson, Honda, Suzuki, Aprilia, Buell, Bimota and Excelsior-Henderson. Start-up included business planning, franchise application, bank & SBA financing, real estate acquisition, real estate development, construction management, recruiting & hiring, budgeting, and business operations policies & procedures (HR, IT, Security, Facility, Accounting, Compliance and Inventory Management). In his final year as a Harley dealer, his dealership achieved the Gold Bar & Shield award from HDMC, the most prestigious award given to the Top 20 dealerships (out of 770) in the US.

Steve began his career in the pharma industry, holding sales and management positions at Upjohn Pharmaceuticals and Pharmacia Corp. He holds a degree in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania. In his free time, he enjoys traveling with his family, extreme sports (though not very extreme anymore), endurance sports and supporting charitable causes.

April 19, 2021April 19, 2021

Liz Leung

When I hung my own shingle as a strategy, marketing and tech consultant, Liz Leung was my first client. She’s a fellow Wharton alumna and we bonded immediately when she hired me to work on a new printer launch. Liz is a humble leader and never seeks the spotlight.

Epson is a Japanese company and Liz leveraged her Chinese background and understanding of Asian cultures to ingratiate the executives in Japan. She studied Japanese and approached the parent company’s executives with deep and authentic reverence. In 2011, Liz was asked if she would shift her attention to help turn around the Latin America consumer printing business. She’d repeatedly gained executive buy-in for strategic initiatives in a positive and constructive manner – all while maintaining a big picture approach. She immediately started learning Spanish and while keeping the entire Latin America product team intact, she led them to turn the Epson printing business around with the introduction of its big tank printer EcoTank. That technology transformed the Latin America consumer printing market and pushed Epson to teh number 1 market share position in the region.

Liz’s advice for her 30 year old self:

Find a mentor or mentors. People who act as your tour guide within an organization, but also act as your mirror to reflect immediate and direct feedback
Plan. Observe what it takes to achieve the success you want within your organization and formulate your plan. Share that plan with your mentors and have them hold you accountable.
Network. Within and outside your organization. Be authentic. Give back.

About Liz Leung

Liz has over 20 years of leadership experience in a wide range of corporate functions. Most recently, Liz has been a marketing executive at Epson America, a Japanese owned technology company based in Long Beach, California. During her tenure at Epson, Liz has been responsible for the go-to-market strategies and life cycle management of product lines accounting for up to $700M in revenues. She has also led various successful new product market entries in both North and Latin Americas, achieving top market share position within a few years after the product introduction. As general manager of her product lines, Liz has managed a large team of product managers in both Americas, and played a leadership role in many large-scale, organizational development initiatives. As a corporate leader, she has regularly partnered with various functional groups, including Finance, Operations, Legal and Sales, to achieve the organization’s objectives. Earlier in her career, Liz led the Corporate Strategy department at Epson, and worked as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group.

Liz studied at Cornell and Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania. Before entering Wharton, she was a wedding dress designer. Liz is an avid gardener, travels extensively, sings in a jazz ensemble, and enjoys podcasts. Her daughter, Tess, is a professional ballerina in the Smuin Contemporary Ballet in San Francisco, California.

April 14, 2021February 3, 2022

Fred Croshal – Music Industry Sales & Marketing Exec

Fred is a dynamic music industry leader who makes friends everywhere he goes. I’ve learned a lot about leadership through how he carries himself in meetings with teams, artists, and other executives. Fred treats everyone the same; whether you’re an intern or Madonna, he truly cares about people and he’s parlayed that into a successful career that continues to allow him to work with big-name artists.

I joined the Sony Music softball team in my early 20s under the nudging of Fred, who was our team captain. He was always a hard-charging, fun-loving, encouraging captain. He taught me that healthy teams, relationships, and organizations can and should be nurtured outside the office. Life’s about blasting great tunes and dancing around a bit, right?

About Fred Croshal

Fred Croshal is a 40-year music industry veteran and founder/CEO of Croshal Entertainment Group, one of the premier independent music-marketing companies in the industry.

Croshal began his career as a retail sales representative at local record stores in the San Francisco/Bay Area before securing his first position at CBS Records. Soon after he obtained executive positions at Sony Music Distribution and Columbia Records, working with artists such as, Michael Jackson, Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Mariah Carey, Stevie Ray Vaughan and many more. In 1996, Madonna hired him at the Maverick Recording Company, where he soon became General Manager, overseeing all departments including; Sales, Press, Radio, Marketing, Creative, etc. on a daily basis. At Maverick Recording Company Croshal was able to build and nurture the careers of artists like Alanis Morissette, Deftones, Candlebox, Michelle Branch and more.

In 2003, Fred took his vast knowledge of sales, marketing, and promotions and founded Croshal Entertainment Group, a marketing and management company that could provide an infrastructure and alternative way for artists to release their music competitively. Croshal Entertainment Group has sold upwards of 6 million records independently to date and has helped guide releases from artists like Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Herb Alpert, Collective Soul, Gnarls Barkley, Jason Mraz, Crosby, Stills, and Nash and many more. In 2017, Fred was featured as one of Billboard magazine’s “Indie Power Players,” a short list of top influential music professionals leading the industry.

April 2, 2021April 11, 2021

Jeff Ayeroff

Jeff Ayeroff is a music industry legend. Besides the interns, I was the most junior person at the WORK Group when Barbara Jones hired me as her assistant. I answered a TON of calls, sent a billion faxes, and had the chance to sit in on meetings with Jeff and his Co-President Jordan Harris, as they discussed marketing strategies for the likes of Fiona Apple, Jamiroquai, Mercury Rev, Sponge, amongst so many others.

His renegade approach to management resonated with me, and it’s Jeff who taught me to beg for forgiveness rather than ask for permission. I wasn’t your typical Wharton grad…I didn’t go into banking, consulting, or accounting. I passed up the big bank paychecks to work in the entertainment industry, went back to Philly for my MBA, then went straight into the tech startup world when I graduated with my MBA.

This episode is chock full of great music industry stories and fantastic lessons about the importance of company culture, taking care of your teams, and getting your hand slapped while onlookers marvel at your ingenuity.

Jeffrey Ayeroff is an American record executive who has worked for A&M, Warner Records, Virgin U.S., Work Group, Apple, and Shangri-La Music. He founded Rock the Vote in 1990 in response to a censorship campaign against artists’ use of explicit language.

Jeff graduated from USC Gould School of Law in 1971, and worked as an Entertainment Attorney before joining the ranks at A&M Records as an assistant to then-President of the label, Gil Friesen, in 1974. He became A&M’s Director of Product Management & Creative Services in 1977 followed by Vice President of Marketing and Creative Services in 1978. At A&M, Ayeroff developed visual campaigns for The Police, Peter Frampton, The Carpenters, and Supertramp, to name a few. Beginning in 1983, his duties as senior vice president of Warner Bros. Records , included overseeing marketing, advertising, creative direction and music videos for artists such as: Madonna, Steve Winwood, ZZ Top, Don Henley, Prince, and Dire Straits. Ayeroff earned two Grammy Award nominations in the category of Grammy Award for Best Recording Package in 1985 and 1986 for his work with A-ha and Talking Heads. His creative direction on the Stop Making Sense album cover was also included in the Museum of Modern Art exhibition, “Making Modern Music: Design For Ear and Eye.”

Ayeroff left Warner Records in 1987 and, along with partner Jordan Harris, opened the U.S. label offices for Virgin Records after an invitation from company owner Richard Branson. Ayeroff and Harris signed and marketed an artist roster at Virgin U.S. which included Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, The Smashing Pumpkins and others.

During his time at Virgin Records, Ayeroff also founded the progressive-aligned political organization Rock the Vote to help increase voter turnout among voters ages 18 to 24. Through alliances with other Entertainment companies, such as MTV, Ayeroff created commercial and print campaigns with contemporary music artists to appeal to a young voter demographic. The organization supported the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, commonly referred to as the “motor voter” bill, which expanded access to voter registration. It was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The law requires state governments to offer voter registration opportunities to any eligible person who applies for or renews a driver’s license or public assistance. Rock The Vote also protested against the Parents Music Resource Center who, at the time, began advocating for warning labels to be added on covers of music releases that contained profane lyrics. It was reported in 2016 that Rock The Vote had registered more than 6 million voters online.

In August 1993, both Ayeroff & Harris resigned from Virgin Records after the company was sold to Thorn EMI. Industry sources said the resignations were because of a management logjam at the company and the subsequent erosion of their duties.

Ayeroff and Harris went on to co-found Work Group in 1995, a West Coast-based subsidiary of Sony Music, where they developed the careers of Jennifer Lopez, Jamiroquai, Fiona Apple, Len, Sponge, Imperial Drag, and Esthero. In July 1999, both Ayeroff and Harris departed the label six months prior to their contract expiration. Sources cited that both were unhappy with Sony after consolidation of promotion duties for all Epic Records labels under one department, in addition to Sony not allowing Ayeroff and Harris to buy a piece of the company they helped build.

Ayeroff was hired by Apple Records in 2000, as a key consultant to oversee the marketing of 1, a career-spanning retrospective of The Beatles which has sold over 30 million copies worldwide to date.

Returning to the Warner Records in 2001 as the label’s chief creative director and vice chairman, he oversaw the visual campaigns for Josh Groban, My Chemical Romance, Green Day, and more. Ayeroff left Warner Bros. in 2004 at the conclusion of his contract.

In 2008, Ayeroff became co-CEO (along with Jon Rubin) of Steve Bing‘s boutique label imprint Shangri-La Music. Ayeroff and Rubin also began ArtistsFirst, a creative and marketing consulting agency, which has launched international humanitarian activism with its music.

March 30, 2021April 9, 2021

Barbara Jones

Barbara Jones, was my second boss. I was introduced to her after my first year in college while I was home for the summer working as a hostess at a hotel. A nice restaurant patron sent my dot-matrix printed resume to Barb and the rest is history.

We’ve since worked on too many projects to recall, including her wedding on a HOT summer day in Malibu. What I love and appreciate about Barbara is that she’s open-minded, always learning, is a risk taker, and enjoys the mountains as much as I do.

Meesh Pierce at Barbara Jones' wedding — Meesh Pierce, after Barbara Jones' wedding ceremony

Barbara Jones' wedding dream team. Meesh Pierce, Barbara, Nick Rodriguez, Holly Adams, and Esther

Charli D'Amelio and Barbara Jones at Prada Feb. 2020

She’s now the it boss in the social media marketing world, managing the TikTok creators like Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, Frankie Jonas, and Illumitati, a rising photographer out of my hometown of Newport Beach.

About Outshine Talent

Outshine Talent was founded in 2016 by Barbara Jones who utilizes her 25+ years of music business, entertainment, social media and influencer marketing experience to run a boutique talent management company with an experienced team of managers. Outshine guides social stars into successful global, personal brands and helps them realize their dreams within social media and beyond.

Leveraging our broad skillset and long-term business relationships, ‘Team Outshine’ develops and implements strategic, big-picture career plans specific to each of our talent’s goals and executes those plans with integrity and heart.

Outshine Talent has offices in Greenwich, CT, NYC and LA.