From Agency Leader & Marketing Pioneer to Substack Sage: Rishad Tobaccowala on Thinking Forward…

Rishad Tobaccowala has been called many things — strategist, philosopher, marketing visionary — and with good reason. After decades helping brands navigate change, he continues to push minds forward through his widely followed Substack newsletter, The Future Does Not Fit in the Containers of the Past.

With more than 250 editions of his Substack newsletter, he has marked a milestone that blends creative consistency with a spirit of generosity. Week after week for nearly five years, Tobaccowala has delivered reflections on the future of work, the reinvention of leadership, and the profound shifts shaping modern life. Part strategist, part philosopher, and an undeniable marketing visionary, he remains a voice worth following in an era of noise.

Over the course of these essays, he has explored 12 major themes, ranging from managing fifty-year careers to embracing personal growth through “chances, changes, and choices.” His work also addresses how we rethink marketing itself: shifting from tactics to humanity, from data points to stories. “The future of marketing is people,” he wrote, arguing for an “Age of Creativity” that respects the messiness of human needs and values.

One of his most resonant ideas appears in his current Substack series, Human in an AI Age: Roots & Wings. As AI races ahead, surpassing traditional human intelligence in many ways, Rishad argues that we must invest in what makes us uniquely human. “We will need to combine the roots of our humanity with the wings of our possibilities,” he writes. Roots, to him, mean stability, perspective, and continuity — a sense of where we came from. Wings represent imagination, risk-taking, and the courage to move beyond our comfort zones.

This balanced approach also comes through in how he sees leadership evolving. From “de-bossification” — the flattening of traditional hierarchies — to lessons drawn from immigrant mindsets and resilience, Tobaccowala stresses adaptability with humility. Many of the challenges he writes about are deeply personal. “Years ago, I used to say I hated change,” he confesses. “But the world changed me.” Writing every week has helped him process that journey and even grow to welcome change.

Storytelling is central to Rishad’s philosophy — not just for brands, but for individuals as well. “We are stories,” he says. “We have beginnings, moments of crisis, breakthrough moments, and near disasters. These narratives shape us.” He calls them “tattoo moments,” those defining points that leave marks, visible or not, on our professional and personal paths.

Tobaccowala’s extensive marketing background provides him with a unique vantage point on these topics. Decades of shaping brand narratives, identifying patterns, and decoding culture have honed his ability to distill complexity into something accessible and memorable. That same sensibility shows up in how he visually illustrates his Substack, weaving expressive images alongside his words. “A picture is still worth a thousand words,” he smiles, acknowledging how visuals can spark emotions that words sometimes cannot.

Humanity and Technology Together…

What’s next? Rishad says he will continue exploring how humanity and technology can evolve together– not simply to keep pace with AI, but to chart a more meaningful path forward.

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In our conversation, we discuss the following:

• You’ve recently marked a significant milestone with the 250th edition of “The Future Does Not Fit in the Containers of the Past,” published consistently every Sunday morning for 250 weeks. You began the newsletter with the idea that it would be a “gift.” Please discuss what that means and the sentiment behind that generosity.

• You’ve covered so many broad themes from the reshaping of “work” and reinventing leadership to how we must adapt to fifty-year careers, as well as more personal issues like managing change, accepting loss, and thinking better. What topics specifically call out to you as the most fundamental? Or the most useful? Or are they all actually interconnected?

• Do you think there has been a truly recognizable, or even structural. shift post-COVID in what matters to business objectives and values?

• On another “philosophical” issue, do you think marketing is at an inflection point? Are the biggest challenges facing brands different from those of a decade ago?

• You write a lot about the need for personal transformation from curing ourselves of “Inner Dinosaur Disease” to thinking like an immigrant. How have these recommendations applied to you? I recall that years ago, you said you didn’t like change.

• You’re both a philosopher and strategist, as well as a writer. What compels you to keep sharing your thoughts, and where do you find the inspiration?

• Your life in marketing informs much of what you write. Do you think this adds to the uniqueness of your voice or the practicality of encouraging your audience to embrace the future?

• The discipline of writing often helps us see things differently or, at the very least, better organize our thoughts and come up with new ideas. The process also changes us and sometimes even surprises us. Have you found that to be true? Would you share how?

• How do you embrace technology now? You’ve written a lot about AI– how it is under-hyped and how people can stay relevant in an AI Age. Tell us more about those thoughts… and let us know if you incorporate AI in your writing. Additionally, how do you stay informed about these developments? Is technology a passion of yours or simply a necessity?

• You also have a strong visual sense, as you incorporate numerous related and expressive images in your Substack writing. Is a picture still worth a thousand words?

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Recently inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame, Tobaccowala joins a group of fewer than 300 individuals since 1948, a testament to his contributions to marketing as both a creative force and a strategic voice. It’s an achievement he accepts with characteristic humility, more focused on what he might learn next than on celebrating past accolades.

So what’s next? Tobaccowala plans to keep exploring humanity’s future alongside accelerating technology, especially how to build cultures of generosity, curiosity, and courage. He hopes to continue bridging traditional wisdom with emerging possibilities, always seeking that blend of roots and wings.

For readers and marketers alike, the lesson is clear: standing still is not an option, but forgetting where you came from is equally risky. In a moment when AI seems poised to redefine work and creativity itself, Tobaccowala’s message offers a centering force.

He puts it best: “We are a mix of roots and wings. Our challenge is to integrate, balance, and unify yesterday and tomorrow, safety and risk, what we are and what we might become.”

Subscribe to Rishad’s Substack or read more of our Trendsetter conversations to stay inspired by the thinkers who help marketing — and humanity — adapt to a future that refuses to fit into the containers of the past.

ABOUT RISHAD TOBACCOWALA

Rishad Tobaccowala is an author, speaker, teacher, and advisor with four decades of experience specializing in helping people, organizations and teams re-invent themselves to remain relevant in changing times.

Tobaccowala was named by BusinessWeek as one of the top business leaders for his pioneering innovation and TIME magazine dubbed him one of five “Marketing Innovators. He is the Ad Age Interactive Hall of Fame and has received a lifetime achievement silver medal award from the Chicago Ad Federation, an Inspire Award for motivating and building talent from the Advertising Education Foundation and the Association of National Advertisers and was named an Advertising Legend by the Advertising Club of New York. Rishad is one of only 300 people selected to the Advertising Hall of Fame in 75 years.

Rishad’s best-selling book “Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in the Age of Data” was published globally by HarperCollins. The Economist Magazine called it perhaps the best recent book on stakeholder capitalism and Strategy Magazine named it among the five best business books and the marketing book of the year. Rishad’s weekly thought-letter, “The Future Does Not Fit in the Containers of the Past” is read by over 30,000 leaders every week across industries and around the world. In February of 2025. HarperCollins published Rishad’s new book “Re-Thinking Work”. Rishad is the host of “What Next?” a podcast where he speaks with a range of leaders across business, technology, academia, and the arts on how to make sense of the cultural, social, and business changes as well as The Rethinking Work Show where pioneers architecting the future of work share their thinking and insights. Rishad is also the co-founder of The Athena Project focused on modern leadership.

Rishad speaks on change, future trends and transforming work forces to a range of industries from platforms (Google, Meta, Reddit, TikTok), to technology (IBM, SAP,) to media ( NY Times, Conde Nast, Paramount, NBCU), to retail and packaged goods (Walmart, Procter and Gamble, Pepsi, Colgate-Palmolive, Unilever, Mondelez ) to Financial Firms ( JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank) to Pharma ( GSK, Novartis, Pfizer, Merck) to Industry Associations (RAB, OAAA, ARF, Public Relations Council, 4A’s and ANA).

Rishad’s advisory clients include global firms such as Publicis Groupe and many executives at Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies, private equity organizations such as Growth Catalyst Partners, Venture Capital firms such as Abundant Ventures and Greycroft, and serves on the board of directors or advisors of LoopMe, Qualsights, Journey, Dumbstruck, and Shift Paradigm.

Rishad remains closely linked to the University of Chicago where he is an advisor to the Graham School and an instructor in its Leadership in Society Initiative. Rishad also continues to be deeply involved in the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago including underwriting the Tobaccowala Scholar Program and participating as a lecturer in its Executive Education.

Rishad spent nearly four decades at Publicis Groupe a 100,000+ employee firm comprising companies like Epsilon, Sapient, Digitas, Leo Burnett, Saatchi and Saatchi, Starcom and Zenith dedicated to delivering marketing and business transformation. Before Rishad stopped being a full-time employee with Publicis Groupe (where he remains active as a Senior Advisor) he was Publicis Groupe’s Global Chief Strategist and Growth Officer and served on its Management Committee.

Rishad has also been the Chairman of Digitas and Razorfish, two of the largest marketing transformation agencies in the world with over 11000 employees.

Over his 40-year career Tobaccowala has worked across almost every area of marketing and strategy including brand advertising, media, database, direct and interactive marketing. As a pioneer in digital marketing, Tobaccowala helped create one of the first interactive groups and digital agencies 25 years ago and has helped launch a series of initiatives over the years from groups focused on gaming, social, mobile and search engine marketing.  Starcom IP, Play, Giant Step, SMG Search and Denuo are some of the brands Tobaccowala helped incubate.

Rishad is also chairman of The Tobaccowala Foundation, which helps over 10,000 people gain better access to health and education in India.

Rishad works closely with The University of Chicago and Northwestern University guest lecturing at Booth and the Graham school at the University of Chicago and at Kellogg and Medill at Northwestern. Rishad also speaks to students at a range of universities across America including Syracuse University, University of Arizona, Indiana University and University of Arkansas.

Tobaccowala holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Bombay and an MBA from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.