In this episode of HawkeTalk, I sit down with Avery Akkineni, Chief Marketing Officer at VaynerMedia, to uncover her journey from growing up in Nashville with a love for books and business dreams to leading global expansion for one of the most disruptive agencies in the world.

Avery shares how her early internships at Live Nation and Morgan Stanley shaped her view of business, why taking risks opened unexpected doors, and how she went from Target’s corporate world to a seven-year career at Google. She reveals the pivotal moment she said “yes” to Gary Vaynerchuk and took the leap to launch Vayner’s Asia-Pacific office from scratch scaling it to 170 people and winning major clients across Singapore, Australia, and beyond.

We dive into the challenges of building teams during COVID, the launch of Vayner3 during the Web3 wave, and why her latest role as CMO is her most fulfilling yet. Through it all, Avery’s story is about persistence, bold choices, and embracing opportunities before they’re obvious.

Her advice? Don’t fear failure—take the leap, because if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

In this episode:

(00:00) Overcoming fear of failure and taking risks
(07:36) Learning what you don’t want
(10:57) First job at Target and early lessons in retail and supply chain
(17:45) Moving from Google to VaynerMedia
(22:06) Launching Vayner’s Asia-Pacific office in Singapore
(23:39) Scaling through crisis during COVID and international growth
(26:30) Transition into Web3 with Vayner3 and bold brand partnerships
(27:44) Becoming CMO of VaynerMedia and building the agency brand
(30:04) Avery’s biggest advice: people have short memories just go for it

Hawke Media

About Our Guest

Avery Akkineni is the Chief Marketing Officer at VaynerMedia, where she leads global brand strategy and innovation. Before joining Vayner, she spent over seven years at Google, helping shape its ad and media platforms. In 2019, she spearheaded Vayner’s expansion into Asia-Pacific, growing the Singapore office from zero to 170 employees and winning major clients like Disney+, P&G, and Subway.

A pioneer in emerging tech, Avery went on to launch Vayner3, guiding Fortune 500 companies into Web3, and now drives VaynerMedia’s own brand growth as CMO. Known for her risk-taking spirit, global perspective, and passion for storytelling, Avery is redefining what it means to be a modern marketing leader.

Avery Akkineni

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