Great creative work doesn't always mean a healthy bottom line. In this episode of The Edge of Influence, host Iman Issa and Lisa Welsh - Co Founders and Managing Partners, North Seventy Five, sit down with Zaid Aboobaker - CEO, CompassPoint Consulting, to unpack what commercial resilience really looks like for agencies navigating a tough, procurement-driven market.

They dig into the race to the bottom on pricing, why over servicing quietly kills margin, and how financial transparency across a team and not just at the top, builds a stronger business. The conversation covers quality of revenue vs. growth for growth's sake, the soft skills needed to have honest scope conversations with clients, and practical habits for staying on top of cash flow.

Whether you're running an independent agency or leading within a larger network, this episode offers grounded, experience-backed advice for protecting margin and building a business that can weather turbulence.

Production Credits:

Presented by: Iman Issa
Editor: Ian Carless
Executive Producers: Iman Issa & Ian Carless
Produced by: North Seventy Five & Poddworx Dubai

In this episode of The Edge of Influence, host Iman Issa, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of North SeventyFive is joined by Kat Bazalova, Managing Director of Incubeta and Chelly Meagle, People Director of Incubeta , to explore what it really takes to build agencies people want to work for.

Together they dig into leading through a period of regional change, why operational clarity, transparent communication and a clear "North Star" matter most in uncertain times, plus how genuine psychological safety, not just rhetoric, lets teams take risks and thrive.

The conversation also covers empowering people over micromanaging, building a feedback and coaching culture, using psychometrics to hire for fit, and recruiting for attitude and adaptability over linear specialism.

They close on a candid case for why independents still have work to do on talent perception and why proximity to leadership, real ownership, and visible impact make them worth the leap.

Production Credits:

Presented by: Iman Issa
Editor: Ian Carless
Executive Producers: Iman Issa & Ian Carless
Produced by: North Seventy Five & Poddworx Dubai

This week on The Edge Of Influence, host Iman Issa - Co-Founder and Managing Partner of North Seventy Five, is joined by Alasdair Hall Jones - GCC Director, The Marketing Society and Firas Wahbeh - Chief Brand and Strategy Officer, BEEAH Group, to unpack how the CMO role has shifted from managing marketing output to helping shape business strategy.

They dig into why the rise of specialist agencies (retail media, influencer, AI) is fragmenting the marketing ecosystem even as holding companies consolidate, and make the case for treating agencies as an extension of the internal team rather than a vendor relationship.

The conversation also covers a candid discussion about AI and the idea that rather than replacing creative talent, instead it should free up agencies to do work that wasn't possible before.

Production Credits:

Presented by: Iman Issa
Editor: Ian Carless
Executive Producers: Iman Issa & Ian Carless
Produced by: North Seventy Five & Poddworx Dubai