Meet the Members of sfBIG – Greg Pomaro

Meet Greg Pomaro

• What is your current job title/company and responsibility? 
  • EVP, Media @ Mediasmith for 6 years.
• What is your idea of perfect happiness 
  • Knowing that the people in my life are safe and happy.
• What is the trait you most deplore in yourself and what trait do you most deplore in others? 
  • I have tried to convince myself that procrastination is actually a “time management strategy”, but the truth is I can wait too long to act in certain circumstances and make more work for myself and others as a result. The thing that bothers me most in other people is meanness. There is just no need to add that negativity into the world.
• Which words or phrases do you think are most “overused” in our business?
  • Where to start? So many terms. Personalization. Synergy. Platform. It goes on. But a couple of terms I think are perhaps overbroad and used poorly are Optimization and testing. All too often, people use these terms to refer to reductionist actions that are merely a reaction to market response. There is often no real sense of testing (controlling variables, looking for causation). Or optimization refers more to cutting things out (often too fast). Better attribution and measuring business impact take a lot of work and these terms sometimes give us an easy out.
• What’s the most fun in your job? 
  • Promoting someone to a new level and role is always a real treat.
• What is a treasured possession of yours?
  • It will be an old Triumph motorcycle that I plan to restore. As a retirement project. I will buy it in about 15 years.
• What is your motto?
  • Take naps when you can!
• What gets you excited about our business?
  • The constant change. It means there is always something new to learn and there are new problems to solve.
• Any secret places/hang out/food in the Bay Area that you can clue us in on?
  • Kon Tiki in Oakland is a legit tiki bar that is a great spot for all sorts of occasions.
• Which living person do you most admire?
  • My uncle Nick is an inspiration. Despite losing his sight at a young age, he became a lawyer and then a circuit court judge and has led a wonderful life. My father is more of a role model, however. He is a fantastic problem solver and is eager to help others if he can apply his experience to an issue they have.