Christopher Kenna is the CEO of Brand Advance – a creative media network helping brands reach diverse audiences with their content, working with the likes of ASOS, Unilever, Google, Apple, Warner Bros, Universal Music and more. Brand Advance is there to help every step of the way – from concept, media buying, data insight and audience development to execution.

Chris, a military veteran, and an awarding winning entrepreneur has been actively involved in film and marketing over the last decade. He shares with us his top tips for staying innovative as a CEO.

• Understand bias in the system and ask questions

Who was it built by?
Who is it built for?
Is it even fit for purpose?

For example, Artificial Intelligence splits doctor roles for men and nurse roles for women due to uneven data ingested into it. You need to build in or use technology which doesn’t perpetuate that bias.

• Fail past – Be fearless, don’t be scared to fail, you need to be trying out new and different things but if it’s not working, move on the next idea.

• Have a clear purpose – Brand Advance has a very clear purpose – to push diversity and inclusion within media to reflect and represent the growing marginalized communities. Having a clear purpose means you know what you want to achieve, it guides your innovation, inspires others and gets them going.

• Collaborate – Get yourself and your team together, share ideas and embed new technologies because this may fix past problems. Ensure there’s time and space for everyone to collaborate.