MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: MARK LINDSAY

Could you tell us who you are and what it is that you do?

Hi, I'm Mark and I'm the Senior Director of News for MediaRadar, an advertising intelligence company. I'm married and share a blended family of five kids with my wife, Kelly.

What do you love about the work?

After almost 20 years at my previous company, I just started at MediaRadar in January. But I love that I have been given the opportunity to tap into my deep News experience to build a brand new product here.  

How did you arrive at this point in your career? What’s your backstory?

After a few years in the newspaper business in the Buffalo, NY, area, I learned that I was never going to be able to support a family on that salary. I relocated to Charlottesville in 2006 to take a news position with what was then SNL Financial (now S&P Global. I left S&P in September and landed at MediaRadar with old and new friends and colleagues. 

Has there been a ‘light switch' moment, a turning point (or two), professionally and or personally along the way?

Right out of college, I spurned offers to work in the newspaper industry because of the low pay and instead worked several years in the finance industry. It paid well but I was deeply unhappy in the work. I made a commitment to myself that I needed to get into jourrnalism because it was what I truly loved to do. After several years of grinding and working part-time jobs to help make ends meet for my young family, one of those part-time jobs led to my opportunity at SNL Financial. It completely changed my life and that initial decision to walk away from a well-paying career in finance was the best decision I ever made. 

Who or what has been your greatest influence? 

My mom. My dad died when I was 8 and left her with three kids, one of whom is disabled. Watching how hard she worked to provide for us never stops being an inspiration to me. 

What are you currently working on, excited about, looking forward to?

My days are consumed with building a news platform for MediaRadar and I'm really excited to see what that looks like and how it involves over the coming months. 

What are you reading, watching, listening to these days?

After a few years of very heavy reading, books have unfortunately taken a back seat to my now incredibly busy schedule. My wife and I have been watching Monarca on Netflix. It's a Spanish language series that has been described as Mexican Succession (accurate!) and follows all the drama of a powerful Mexican family that runs a tequila company. Highly recommend! 

Anything we missed that you might care to share (closing thoughts)?

I am also on the board of directors for the Mahogany & Friends Foundation (https://www.linkedin.com/company/mahogany-and-friends-foundation/ ), which works to provide financial literacy to children (and adults!), particularly those who have been historically excluded from wealth-building opportunities. If anyone wants to know more about that work, feel free to drop me a line!