A Little Bit About Me
Hi, I'm Lenny, and I have supported ad agencies for 10 years and counting. My first four years were spent in client-facing roles, but I've found my home over the last six years on the operations side implementing processes, systems and reporting. After completing 10 long years at Vice Media earlier this year, I now serve NVE Experience Agency, an LA-based company specializing in branded events. Find out more about my journey below or use the filters on the left to navigate through my experiences and writing.
But honestly, I don't think living alone with my parents really impacted me that much. I spent most of my time playing baseball and golf, not really putting much thought into my career (other than wanting to play shortstop for the Yankees, of course). I tried walking on to Quinnipiac University's baseball and golf teams to no avail, so I found myself doing what many athletes tend to do: become a sports journalist.
Still working for the Globe in the summer after college, I was itching to get to New York City (where Carrot, my sisters, many of my friends and ... the Yankees were located). So when I saw an opening at the New York Daily News, I jumped on it and when I got it I felt like I had already reached my dream job. I was getting paid to watch sports half the time and working directly with writers who I had read religiously since starting my Yankees blog. While I loved it for the first few nights, working the graveyard shift and reverse commuting to New Jersey wore me down quickly.
With Carrot on my mind but no room for me on their roster, I looked for ways to get their attention, so I began working for Likeable, another social agency on my two off-days from the Daily News. Two months later, Carrot won business with Wilson Sporting Goods and was looking for someone to spearhead the account.
Timing is everything.
A year in at Carrot, Mike sold his company to VICE Media. This didn't impact my day-to-day much until mid-2017 (after four-plus years of producing content and managing projects), when the CFO of VICE-owned creative agency Virtue noticed my knack for systems and analytics. I formally began reporting directly to the CFO and started the Operations team that would help ease Carrot's transition into merging with Virtue six months later.
- Let's Connect! – Lenny.Neslin@gmail.com
EARLY LIFE
With my dad teaching at Dartmouth's business school for the last 40-plus years, I grew up in Hanover, New Hampshire. My two older sisters left for college and boarding school before I reached double-digits, so I spent my formative years as the only child in the house.But honestly, I don't think living alone with my parents really impacted me that much. I spent most of my time playing baseball and golf, not really putting much thought into my career (other than wanting to play shortstop for the Yankees, of course). I tried walking on to Quinnipiac University's baseball and golf teams to no avail, so I found myself doing what many athletes tend to do: become a sports journalist.
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THE QUINNIPIAC CHRONICLE
Quinnipiac's student newspaper, the Chronicle, changed my life forever. I met some of my best friends and devoted the majority of my time in college to it, rising the ranks to editor-in-chief by my senior year. I thank the paper for three crucial things:- My Blog – Friends on the paper urged me to start a blog, so lenNYsYankees.com was born and, after posting daily and cultivating an audience on social for three years, it helped earn me a spot on The Boston Globe's sports staff before, during and after my senior year.
- Management Skills – By sophomore year, I was already managing a team of 15 writers as the sports editor. By senior year, that grew to 20 editorial board members and 30-plus staffers. I learned how to work together with varying personalities and helped lead us over Harvard as the best college newspaper in the region, according to the New England Society of Newspaper Editors.
- Writing Skills – Lastly, I learned to write halfway decently.
CAREER
A week before I graduated, the founder of a social media agency, Carrot Creative, visited Quinnipiac to speak to an entrepreneurship class. After Mike Germano dazzled the small crowd at Buckman Theater, I introduced myself and that was the first time I felt like I had an alternative career path to journalism.Still working for the Globe in the summer after college, I was itching to get to New York City (where Carrot, my sisters, many of my friends and ... the Yankees were located). So when I saw an opening at the New York Daily News, I jumped on it and when I got it I felt like I had already reached my dream job. I was getting paid to watch sports half the time and working directly with writers who I had read religiously since starting my Yankees blog. While I loved it for the first few nights, working the graveyard shift and reverse commuting to New Jersey wore me down quickly.
With Carrot on my mind but no room for me on their roster, I looked for ways to get their attention, so I began working for Likeable, another social agency on my two off-days from the Daily News. Two months later, Carrot won business with Wilson Sporting Goods and was looking for someone to spearhead the account.
Timing is everything.
A year in at Carrot, Mike sold his company to VICE Media. This didn't impact my day-to-day much until mid-2017 (after four-plus years of producing content and managing projects), when the CFO of VICE-owned creative agency Virtue noticed my knack for systems and analytics. I formally began reporting directly to the CFO and started the Operations team that would help ease Carrot's transition into merging with Virtue six months later.
In February 2020 I joined VICE Media's corporate tech ops team, serving all of Vice's lines of business (not just Virtue). In March 2023, I left Vice for NVE Experience Agency, a 200-person LA-based company that Campaign US named Experiential Agency of the Year in 2023.
Find more details about my career accomplishments on my Resume page.
SPARE TIME
When I'm not at work, I like to stay active. Whether it's exercising before work or playing in rec sports leagues, I can't get enough. I also like to read non-fiction, cook, run, and root for, you guessed it, the Yankees.
