Terri & Sandy’s Sandy Greenberg on learning to know her worth

Ad Age is marking Women’s History Month 2024 by publishing a series of guest essays from women industry leaders who share their personal journeys and career lessons. Today, Sandy Greenberg, co-founder and CEO, Terri & Sandy, writes about creating an agency “where sexism, ageism, racism and every other ‘ism’ would not be tolerated.”

My boss, the global agency’s chief creative officer, was a man. They almost always were in 2010. In fact, less than 3% of creative directors were women at that time. On this morning, he was once again pontificating about what he believed was key to the organization’s future success. “We need a lot more young people around here. This is a business that runs on young blood.”

I was an executive creative director with two decades of successes under my belt. Perhaps my blood wasn’t “young,” but it still ran hot with resilience, ambition and creativity. It became clear the person I worked for didn’t believe my ability to learn, grow and embrace the unfamiliar. He had minimized and marginalized not only who I was, but who I could become.

Three months later, I walked out the door.

I started my own agency with my long-term creative partner Terri Meyer. Our name, vastly different from the humongous agencies where we grew up, was simply Terri & Sandy. We had a mighty staff of three interns and a handful of our favorite creatives who freelanced with us. Things started to get interesting for our shop when our former Kraft client, Daryl Brewster, introduced us to Scott Morris, one of the founders of Freshpet. Their company was just a pup at the time, a pioneer in the fresh pet food movement. The meeting blossomed into a 13-year relationship and we’ve helped grow the brand from $2 million to $2 billion.

Next, we got a call inviting us to pitch People magazine. I was so stunned I dropped my coffee on Terri’s antique Persian carpet. We quickly learned we were up against agencies with more offices than we had employees. Our final meeting took place in a conference room so stately, it could have been the Oval Office.

I still remember the day we got the call that we won. The client wanted to run the campaign we pitched: “People Love People.” We were fortunate to work with amazing female leaders including Jennifer Ogden-Reese and Martha Nelson, the first female editor-in-chief of Time Inc.

Our tiny agency was off to the races.

Over the next few years, our roster grew to include Keurig Green Mountain, Disney Princess, Gerber, Nutella, BJ’s Wholesale Club and Princess Cruises. We won awards, including top honors from Ad Age’s Small Agency Awards. And last year, we garnered the prestigious honor of Fast Company’s World Changing Idea for our public service effort “Strands for Trans.”

Every now and then I think back to that day in my boss’s office and realize that he did me a favor. By diminishing me, he increased my desire to call my own shots. To live and die by my own decisions. To create a place where sexism, ageism, racism and every other “ism” would not be tolerated.

I knew my worth. And one of the greatest pieces of advice I can give to any woman coming up in this industry is know yours.