Known for his drive and charisma, Guy Griggs has spent two decades climbing to the top of some of the world’s most powerful media companies. When this episode was recorded, he was Vice President of National Sales at The New York Times . Today, he is SVP of Advertising Sales & Partnerships at CNN.

But behind all of Guy’s well deserved career success, is a hidden pressure. Shaped by a childhood that demanded excellence, and by navigating the industry as a Black gay man, Guy has always carried the sense that he had something to prove.

In this episode, Guy opens up about how those early experiences fueled his drive and built his resilience — and how he is learning to trade blind ambition for a motivating force bigger than himself, one rooted in faith, family, and a definition of success that finally feels like his own.

We talk about:

• How early childhood experiences left him feeling he had everything to prove, and why that pressure became both a driver and a burden

• The identity piece — what it has meant to succeed in media as a Black gay man, and the resilience it demanded

• The double-edged sword of people-pleasing, and how it fueled both career advancement and burnout

• His networking philosophy — why he sees every room as infinite possibility, and how genuine connection has driven his career

• The role of faith and integrity in his leadership, and why doing the right thing when no one is watching is his ultimate red line

• Redefining failure from disappointment and shame into resilience and learning, staying positive through downturns, and how he bounced back from the toughest feedback of his career

A deeply personal conversation about ambition, identity and belonging, at the highest level of corporate America.

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Stay Connected with Alanna (Host) & Guy (Guest):

• Alanna Lynch Instagram: @meliorfuturi
• Alanna Lynch Linkedin: alannalynch
• (FAIL)UP Instagram : @failupbymeliorfuturi
• Guy Griggs Instagram: @guygriggs
• Guy Grigg's Linkedin: guygriggs

If this conversation left you wanting to think bigger, feel braver, and influence change in your own career, head to melior-futuri.com to explore our executive and leadership coaching programs, available internationally.

If this conversation left you wanting to think bigger, feel braver, and influence change in your own career, head to melior-futuri.com to explore our executive and leadership coaching programs, available internationally.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of (FAIL) UP, host Alanna Lynch sits down with celebrated arts & culture journalist, Julia Halperin.

Julia Halperin has been asking tough questions about power, equity, and representation in the art world for more than a decade. She co-founded the Burns Halperin Report, the largest tracking study of its kind examining diversity in museums and markets, and is a contributor to The New York Times, Financial Times, Cultured, W Magazine, and The Art Newspaper. From 2017 to 2022, she was executive editor of Artnet News, where we first worked together.

Behind her rigorous reporting is a personal story about perfectionism, people-pleasing, and how she found the conviction to stop putting herself last.

In today’s episode, Julia opens up about:

• How her work as a journalist tries to answer the question “Why do we value what we value?” and what the data really reveals about progress (or lack thereof) for women, Black, and Latinx artists

• Why mid-career women are often overlooked in the art world, and how that reflects broader gender bias across industries

• Reframing failure as friction and how avoiding conflict early in her career taught her the importance of trusting her gut

• The shift from perfectionism and people-pleasing to setting boundaries and making choices aligned with her own values

• Her take on the future of arts journalism, and why she believes individual voices will rise as legacy institutions shrink

An honest and inspiring conversation about bias, value, and what happens when you stop living by other people’s expectations and start claiming space for yourself.

Stay Connected with Alanna & Julia:

• Alanna Lynch Instagram: @meliorfuturi
• Alanna Lynch Linkedin: alannalynch
• (FAIL)UP Instagram : @failupbymeliorfuturi
• Julila Halperin Instagram: @juliahalperin
• Julia Halperin Linkedin: juliahalperin

If this conversation left you wanting to think bigger, feel braver, and influence change in your own career, head to melior-futuri.com to explore our executive and leadership coaching programs, available internationally.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of (FAIL) UP, host Alanna Lynch sits down with builder, creative leader, and founder of PRESENT, Josh Horowitz.

Josh Horowitz has never loved the word entrepreneur. Even after building the experiential agency Fake Love and selling it to The New York Times, he has always seen himself less as a businessman and more as a builder of artful experiences that bring people together.

So when he walked away from the company he had spent more than a decade building, it wasn’t just a professional pivot — it was a reset of his creative vision and personal identity.

In today’s episode, we dive into:

• Why he rejects the label “entrepreneur” and prefers to see himself as a builder

• The evolution of experiential from short-term brand activations to long-term cultural installations, and how this clarified and deepened his sense of purpose

• His new partnership with Ventureland, with Kerstin Emhoff joining as an investor, and what this means for how agencies and production companies collaborate across formats like film x experiential

• Why he believes art and experience design are universal languages — and what that means for the future of human connection.

• Leaving Fake Love behind after its NYT acquisition and finding the courage to start over

• Why he sees self-awareness as his greatest strength, helping him spot the right opportunities that align with his creative mission

• His perspective on failure as an everyday practice, not a fatal outcome

• Why community, creativity, and persistence matter more now than ever

A candid and energizing conversation about self-awareness, entrepreneurship, and the unexpected detours that shape a creative life.

Stay Connected with Alanna & Josh

• Alanna Lynch Instagram: @meliorfuturi
• Alanna Lynch Linkedin: alannalynch
• (FAIL)UP Instagram : @failupbymeliorfuturi
• Josh Horowitz Linkedin: joshhorowitz
• Visit PRESENT: www.nowpresent.com

If this conversation left you wanting to think bigger, feel braver, and influence change in your own career, head to melior-futuri.com to explore our executive and leadership coaching programs, available internationally.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.