Editors’ Note

Liz Margolis leads operational activities for Active’s U.S. departments, both revenue producing as well as the corporate groups. With a deep understanding of media, technology and finance, she focuses on efficiency and effectiveness for internal and client-facing processes. Margolis joined Active in 1992 as a media assistant and has advanced into positions with growing responsibility, including Media Coordinator, Buyer, Account Director, Systems & Operations Manager, and Associate Director of Media Operations. Most recently, she was Senior Vice President, Director of Media Operations. She received a B.A. with a specialty in international business from St. Thomas Aquinas College.

Company Brief

Active International’s (activeinternational.com) purpose is to transform data into insights, strategy into action, and vision into value. With the entrepreneurial spirit of a startup, and the capabilities of a global corporation, Active continues to redefine what’s possible and turn possibilities into positive business outcomes. Active drives performance through industry expertise, its Corporate Trade Model, and portfolio of companies with a core competency in media, to create and deliver value for leading brands throughout their business life cycles.

Will you provide an overview of your role and key areas of focus?

I establish, in conjunction with the COO, strategic objectives and operating policies with regard to the revenue producing groups to enhance profitability, growth and personnel development. My key areas of focus include leading the development of the annual budget for the U.S. teams from revenue down to net income, as well as continuously focusing on future forecasts for the U.S.-based team which helps to dictate how to deploy resources and investments in both people and product.

Within the data and analytics area, I utilize past and present data to gain insights in order to forecast future trends and predictable outcomes to enhance forecasts and ultimately business decisions. Further, I manage a team to develop and analyze systems and reports to accurately evaluate all revenue generating activity to determine that the department’s goals and objectives are being met, and to maximize spread and margin within each group.

In the technology arena, I work alongside the IT professionals to continue to refine systems and processes to gain efficiency as well as to adapt to a changing marketplace.

You started working at Active when the company only had about 70 employees, As Active has grown in size and scale, how important has it been for the company to maintain its entrepreneurial spirit and focus on innovation?

I believe it is a key element of our success. Our employees are encouraged to not only see the problem, but see the opportunity that solving that problem brings. New ideas emerge that may not have been thought possible. It is a mindset that our staff needs to have and we all must be actively thinking about change and how to adapt to a media marketplace that is continually evolving. However, you cannot ignore the element of risk that this mindset brings with it. An entrepreneurial spirit takes calculated risk allowing employees to think outside the box and think about different approaches that are unique and diverse. Especially given the pandemic that we are experiencing right now, if you do not focus on innovation and how to adapt to an uncertain market, I believe you will be left behind your competition.

For me personally, my journey has been a continuous evolution, as most of the positions I have held at Active were self-created based on a need the company had as well as the trust in me that I could continue to meet the challenge to grow and develop what was needed to continue with the evolution and growth of Active.