Marcia & her Son

Marcia Roosevelt is EVP Group Strategic Planning at SaatchiNY. She’s been with the company for just under 13 years, and has done consistently wonderful work on Olay & other brands. If you’re interested in learning more about Marcia and her work, feel free to visit her LinkedIn Page.

What do you do at Saatchi & Saatchi?
I listen.  I do hallway conversations, meetings, conference calls.   I type, too.  And then, as requested, I do my time sheet.

Your first job?
Child labor as a dish-washer.  I was staying overnight with a friend whose parents owned an inn and the dish-washer didn’t show up.  We were both drafted into service.

What led you on the path you’re on today?
Up until the day I had an epiphany while balancing a tea cup on my knee in the Rose Parlor of my college, I was ‘supposed’ to go to law school.   On this day, the law school dean came to woo us to his ‘considered-quite-prestigious” program.

Lots of talk about responsibility and power, checks and balances, and managing social issues . . . when I realized that this was a career where you could become very powerful by saying  ‘no, you can’t do that’.

As if hit by a lightening bolt, I knew that I DID NOT want to be Ms. Nay-Sayer for the rest of my life.    Instead, I started searching for a career that would be more of a ‘yes” and ‘why don’t we?’ kind of career.

Favorite YouTube video?
Well, I’m more of a fan of the TED videos, but for YouTube, it’s a tie between Extreme Sheep LED Art:

Or, The JK Wedding Entrance:

I like the Playing for Change videos, too.

What’s your best “nothing is impossible” story?
Arnold Schwarzenegger is the governor of California!

Tell us something surprising about yourself:
I talk to the dog.

What are your Lovemarks?
Moleskine
24 Faubourg  (perfume)
La Mission Haut Brion (wine)
Nikon D90 (still in new love affair with my newish camera)
The New Yorker

Favorite childhood television program?

That Girl (“Oh, Donald!”)
Mary Tyler Moore (On the air:  Ted Baxter: I’ve just been handed a bulletin: “You have something on your front tooth!”)

What’s your favorite creative pursuit?
Photography

What do you do for fun?
My husband and I are groupies for a 13 year old travel baseball team.

What blogs/magazines/books/papers/websites can you not live without?
Stylus.com.   It is a wonderful and inspirational source of creative ideas, from color to art to architecture to trends.  We just negotiated worldwide usage for 14 months for everybody in the Saatchi & Saatchi network, so spread the word to the team!

Email Pat Murphy or Patricia Colorio and they will pass your name onto the Stylus folks.  Good through January 1, 2012.

Have you ever won a trophy?
Of course.  I spent a childhood amassing trophies.

Book that you’re currently reading:
“The Widower’s Tale” by Julia Glass

A guilty pleasure for me is:
Reading gossip magazines while getting a pedicure.

What do you think the greatest invention is in your lifetime and why?
LASIK corrective eye surgery.  Because I had to say ‘no’ to snorkeling with my son and it allowed me to say ‘yes’ instead.

Favorite artist/musician/designer?
Artist:  Rene Magritte
Musician:  Bach
Designer:  Martin Margiela

When’s the last time you gave a standing ovation?
Early October of this year, when I heard Nando Parrado (one of the Uraguyan rugby players who were stranded in the Andes) speak at a business conference.  There were about 600 people in the audience and you could have heard a pin drop as he recounted his tale.

He really puts in perspective what is important in life…the answer is love, family, connection, generosity, joy…that and having the sense to appreciate it when it comes to you.

If you weren’t at Saatchi & Saatchi, what profession would you most like to try?
Writer for a small town newspaper, covering the local goings-on, e.g. “What’s up at the dump” and “Selectmen debate merits of John Deere mowers”

What’s the last song you listened to?
“Daylight” by Matt & Kim