Kate O'Brien - Founder & CEO - Powers of Reasoning

Kate O'Brien is a prominent media executive and entrepreneur who is actively disrupting the traditional advertising landscape. Before launching her own venture, she built a formidable reputation in the performance media space, notably leading a 200-person agency team and driving massive revenue growth (over 30%) by securing heavyweight clients like DraftKings, Virgin Voyages, and Rao’s. In May 2024, she took her company, Powers of Reasoning, out of stealth mode. Key Takeaways on Her and the Agency:The "Guaranteed Performance" Model: Kate founded Powers of Reasoning to fix a major flaw she saw in legacy advertising. While traditional agencies make "esoteric" promises about brand savings, her agency utilizes a unique business model that legally guarantees specific media results or financial returns for clients. Cutting the Agency Markup: Her philosophy centers on extreme data transparency, AI-driven Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) made for modern operators, and completely eliminating hidden agency markups. The Procurement Gap Advocate: As the head of a certified Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE), Kate is a vocal advocate for changing corporate procurement. She frequently highlights the stark statistic that despite massive corporate DEI promises, only about 1% of Fortune 100 companies actually procure services from certified women-owned agencies.She is based in Brooklyn, New York, and is currently a rising star in the independent agency space.